Free! Heart of the Sixth Magic - Book 2: Forbidden Covenant
by AveraxMagna
Summary: A great miracle strikes globally which is drawing attention to many people who are still seeking the Suiei Gods for selfish reasons! A deadly chase begins between a secret government conspiracy and a hacking organization as friends must work with the Sixth Suiei God to protect his human host...and his family!
1. Prologue: A Warm Return

**_Free: Heart of the Sixth Magic! _****フリー****!第六魔法のハート**

-Book 1: Hidden Illusions 隠し錯視-

**-Book 2: Forbidden Covenant 禁断コヴナント****- (You are here)**

-Book 3: The Last Legend ザラストレジェンド-

* * *

_**Author's Note and Guide:**_

WELCOME! As we continue on the journey here of the wonderful world of Free!, a lot of things began to move in Book 1, but it's not over yet! There are still several mysteries to uncover: WARNING OF SPOILERS!

_1.) Why was Alex spying on ama-chan?_

_2.) What are Rei's current feelings as a result of the events from the Time Loop and the Time Continuum? _

_3.) Who is this new visitor after Serah left?_

_4.) What is the "Haus of the Heavens" and "Terran Nost"?_

_5.) Now that Alex has a Suiei God, how will the relationships affect between him and the rest of the Free!Boys?_

_6.) What is the Ordinance Bill that prohibited minors for curfew and set up internet restrictions?_

_7.) What was the "tragedy" that struck Alex's original hometown (Mayfield)?_

The Journey continues with our beloved Alex returning home to his family...Questions will be answered...but a price will be paid...

* * *

**_Prologue: _**ウォームリターン... **_A Warm Return…_**

The airplane soared across the skies as Alex rested, thinking back to all what was happening in the last few days of his stay in Japan. He wished to have stayed a bit longer but he knew that there was too many drama and feelings going on between some of the people.

_Haruka…Nagisa…Makoto…Rin…Rei_, he thought as he listened to some of his music on his iPod.

He suddenly realized that he hasn't accomplished a part of his mission from before; especially with the fact that he had to spy on a teacher back in Iwatobi. But due to the illusion that cursed him, he was unable to fulfill the mission.

_Oh well_, he thought, _I just hope I did enough to pay Leon's promise._

He recalled back when he first met the pure genius; he was told by Cassi that they were on a spy at the Haus of the Heavens. However, the Haus (in his mind while he was under the spell) had ties to his enemy who made a song that his people in high school used to shun him. However, it was later revealed that they had ties to the Censorship Bill and some Curfew Laws also with the government of Tokyo.

Regardless of what side they were on, he was determined to defeat his enemy once and for all. After realizing that it was an illusion, he managed to break the spell and obtain his Suiei God after receiving the necklace beforehand as using his newfound abilities to free the people who suffered non-verbal Autism…including his brother.

_Now it was time to return to see the fruits of labor…_

* * *

The airplane arrived safely in L.A.X around towards the night hours (9 PM) and after leaving the plane, he went to get his bags safely. However, he was anxious to find his family and his brother.

"Young prince," said Suiei Marotta, "You must watch out now through these crowds; don't get too excited."

"I know, I know," he replied, "But I just can't believe that…"

"Sandro!? SANDRO!? SANDRO!?" shouted a familiar voice from the distance.

Alex turned to see his parents, his two grandparents and his brother standing on the other end of the hallway.

"B-br-brother!" shouted Sergio as he broke off and rushed up to him.

Alex gasped and spilled tears of joy as he dropped his suitcase and hugged his younger brother.

"Finally…" said Alex, squeezing tightly, "After so many years…you finally…can talk now."

"I'm sorry for worrying you…the whole time," replied Sergi.

"Please, don't apologize," smiled Alex, still holding on to his brother, "You're safe now…and you're here with us."

The two gathered the bags as they joined up with the family.

"Hey son," said the father, "How did your trip go?"

"It was great!" smiled Alex, "I got to make some new friends there. They were very kind and special. They helped me on the research for a while. But then this weird miracle happened...and I…"

"Let's get settled first at the house, and then we'll talk," replied the mother as she held Sergi's hand.

"Yeah," nodded Alex.

* * *

After another hour or so, the family returned to the house in Santa Monica District of Los Angeles.

"I am stunned to see how expensive this house is," said Sergio, "But how did you managed to?"

"Oh it's another story," blushed Alex, "I know we really don't have much money but at least this place is nice."

"Yeah! It's so beautiful out here!" laughed Sergio, "You get to see the ocean from here and there's like so much to do!"

Suiei Marotta stayed hidden in the mists and watched the family settling in.

_My, he's got quite a nice family_, thought the Suiei God as he floated his way to the Cliffside of the beach and resumed on his human-like form.

"Do you guys hear me?" asked Suiei Marotta as he closed his eyes.

"Yes I hear you," echoed Suiei Nanase.

"Got that," replied Tachibana.

"Understood," said Matsuoka.

"Got it," answered Ryugazaki, "And so did Hazuki."

"I do not know when we'll return; it's only May still…it'll be some time. The boy will need proper training in order to use his powers correctly," said Suiei Marotta.

"Yeah, we're going to be heading off soon. However, we're going to be not far away from the states actually," replied Tachibana's voice.

"Did something happen?" asked Marotta.

"Well…we did get some company," echoed Nanase.

"Well, I am sure they can put up with it...for a bit..." sighed Marotta, "But we'll be back soon."

"Copy that then," replied Ryugazaki.

"Farewell for now. I'll send you updates as needed; and please let me know if anything goes wrong," said Marotta.

"Roger that," answered Matsuoka.

* * *

"Hey brother, let's go out to the ocean!" said Alex.

"But it's late and dark outside," replied Sergio, "I don't think this is a…"

"Oh come on!" laughed Alex, "We can get the Tiki Lights on and it'll just be us."

Before Sergio could answer, Alex rushed out and was stripping off his clothes as his bathing suit was already on beforehand (thanks to Haruka's teachings) and goes into the gentle waters. The skies were clear and starry.

The younger brother rushed outside and saw the clothes on the sand as he saw Alex floating on his back in his bathing suit!

"D-did…did you just wear a bathing suit this whole time!?" blushed Sergio.

The boy broke the surface and had his bathing/speedo suit on with the white stripes that curved around his legs and his central area.

"Well, I had no room to put my bathing suit…so I decided to wear it," smiled Alex, knowing that this excuse was partially lame.

Sergio sighed and answered, "Alright…fine. I'll be back with mines."

Alex nodded as the younger brother rushed back to the house. The parents were already settling in to watch TV with Nonna (Grandma) Armeta and Nonno (Grandpa) Remo.

"Why is your brother out in the water?" asked the father, annoyed.

"I'm going in too," smiled Sergio innocently as he rushed up the stairs, ignoring the protest.

* * *

Back outside, Suiei Marotta drifted down to the boy, saying, "I see you're enjoying yourself…"

"Well you know. It's just how it is I guess...we move on...but we remember...we forgive...but we never forget," said Alex as his smile turned to a more neutral face, "I just hope Rei…can at least forgive me…I know he won't forget…"

"He'll be fine, you don't have to worry," smiled Suiei Marotta, resting his hand on the boy.

"I care for all of them…they're like a new family," said Alex, "Honestly, I haven't felt this happy for a while…even though I did had some dear friends back in high school…I miss them too."

The Suiei nodded and vanished into the mists as Sergio rushed back outside in his bathing suit.

"I'm back!" called Sergio as he walked into the waters but stood on his feet and sitting on the shoreline and the water.

The younger brother blushed as he got a good glimpse on his older brother's body and shape. He was much stronger than their lives back in Mayfield. All over, his body was chiseled with the tone of muscles.

Alex laughed and said, "I can teach you…if you want. We'll both be strong boys, how about that?"

"Oh…um…okay," chuckled Sergio as they both laughed.

The younger brother walked into the waters and they splashed around with each other and watched the beautiful skies as the stars shined brightly above them. The moon hovered high above as a beautiful glow shined around them.

Afterwards, they both lied on the sand with their feet in the water, watching the stars high above.

"Brother?" asked Sergio.

"Yeah?" replied Alex.

"Will you stay this time?" answered the younger brother, "I don't want you to leave again."

Alex widened his eyes a little but smiled, saying, "I…I do not know how I can guaranteed to stay. There were a lot of things that happened to me in Japan…and I feel that some issues have not been resolved properly."

"Issues?" asked Sergio, "Like what?"

"Um…it's kinda a long story," he answered as he held his brother's hand, "Don't worry about it. You have gone through a lot in life yourself…now we can embrace it and continue forward, okay?"

"Yeah!" smiled Sergio as he giggled.

* * *

Back inside, the parents watched as their two sons were enjoying themselves and the night scene.

"It was just…a miracle…and a tragedy," said the mother, "Our younger son talks finally…but our home in Mayfield."

"I don't know how Sandro managed to get this house here," said the father, "I just hope he's not gambling or whatever…"

"Well didn't he say that he found work here?" asked the mother, "And that it paid him quite a bit?"

"I…I think so," he replied, "He must have done work while he was in college and now that he's done...why is he…?"

"Unless maybe…the lottery," said the mother, "He might have gotten a lawyer to take care of it and he's managed to use it carefully."

The father said nothing as they continued to watch their sons. Something has changed ever since the older one left Mayfield…

_**But what was it? What kind of fortune was found?**_

* * *

_**Chapters 1 & 2 will be released on Wednesday DECEMBER 4, 2013!**_

_**See you water next time! :3**_


	2. Chapter 1: A Plethora of Issues

**_Chapter 1: 問題の過多_****_..._** **_A Plethora of Issues…_**

**Sametsuka, Japan (Nitori's House)**

The gang returned back home as they gathered at Nitrori's house for dinner. It was only several hours since Alex returned to the state and now they had a new visitor in their hands.

_So who is this new guest_, thought Haruka, _She's like…hungry, even more so than Serah?_

Makoto and Rin sat silently while Nagisa tried his best to maintain a smile even though he was secretly freaked out by all of this. Mikoshiba had to return home to run a few errands while Gou was in the kitchen helping Nitori.

Izawa could smell the food and said, "Oh my gawd, you guys are all like hawt! I could eat you all in a jiffy!"

Makoto freaked out again as he jumped behind Nagisa, shaking his hands.

_Well that's one way to break this awkward silence_, thought Rei as he blushed a little.

"Oh boy oh boy!" she laughed, "Yaaahooooo!"

"Oi!" called out Nitori, "Settle down there!"

"Hmm…aah, she's kinda scary?" muttered Nagisa.

"Tell me about it," sighed Makoto.

Rin sighed as he was hoping that dinner would be ready soon so they could just at least eat and hope that the girl could settle down.

"Oh boooy," sneered Izawa, looking at Nitori, "You're yummy! Mind if I take a bite out of your arm?"

Gou's eyes widened in horror, asking Nitori, "Who is this crazy girl?"

At this point, Nitori had enough since he would normally cook in silence; all kinds of noises distracted him since he was not used to cooking on his own from Mikoshiba's and Haruka's teachings.

"…I dare you to try me," muttered Nitori, "I may look cute and simple…but I'm not always like that way."

"Oi!" said Rin, "I never seen you pop off before."

"Oh trust me…when the fuse pops, it's a different story," replied Nitori, giving out a dark stare.

Izawa replied his dark stare with her own, saying as she drooled a little, "Oh I smell a challenge…I like to eat boys that tough for dessert."

Nitori coughed it out and replied, "I've already been dead before…I don't need it again."

"Nitori," said Gou, "I don't think that's a good idea even though you may hold Erastos's memories…"

"Well that's great!" laughed Izawa, "More seasoning to your tasty blood! However, I wouldn't kill you though…I'm not like Serah."

The guys stood in shock as soon as she mentioned Serah's name. Makoto almost jumped again in fear while Rin tried to hold his cool in one place.

"Y-you knew Serah?" asked Haruka finally, breaking the ice a little.

Izawa smiled widely and nodded, "Why of course! She's the princess, who doesn't know her?"

"Uh guys!" said Nagisa, "I think we should ask her WHO IS SHE?"

"Serah never said anything about a princess," added Rin.

"We would like to know who you are, please," said Haruka.

"Yes…" agreed Makoto, trying to gain confidence, "at least an introduction would be helpful…"

The girl crossed her legs dramatically while she pushes her ponytail back, "I am Izawa Sora of the Blood Clan. Pleased to meet ya'll. You can call me Sora if you wish."

"I am Haruka Nanase, a college student," said Haruka.

"Makoto Tachibana, also in college," added Makoto.

"Rin Matsuoka, I am also a college student," said Rin.

"The others are in High School," explained Haruka.

"Nitori Aiichirou, senior of my high school," said Nitori.

"High school? College? What the hell? That sounds interesting," replied Izawa, "Sooo… Which one of you has the sweetest blood huh? I'm starviiing…"

"You can relax on the blood and gore," said Nitori as he got the dishes of food on the table, "here are some rice balls, some vegetarian sushi, and a bit of some tomato soup…and there will be some desert."

"Sora-chan," said Nagisa as he got up to stretch, "We haven't finished our introductions! I'm Nagisa Hazuki!"

"And I'd be Rei Ryugazaki," said the megane, doing the look with his glasses, "We be happy to know what is exactly up with you."

"Oi you two," began Izawa when she turned her head to smell the delicious food on the table, "OH BOY THIS FOOD LOOKS HEAVENLY!"

The others blushed as their visitor's eyes sparkled brightly, "Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!"

They all sat at the table as they began to dine on the food. Nitori could tell that Izawa was eating as if she hadn't had anything for days.

Makoto got some rice balls and passed them to Nagisa while Rei drank his tea and carefully watched Izawa's strange attitude.

_Alex_, thought Haruka,_ thank goodness you made it out of here...I don't know how you can handle this..._

Izawa's mouth was stuffed as she tried to speak, "do you gaisssh knowww any closeee vamp baar arwound here?"

Nagisa looked at her with a confusing response, what the hell was she talking about?

"Oh a bar? Like party clubs?" asked Nitori.

"Uh no…I mean like the place where we vamps like to hang out and get good boys to shug on," replied Izawa as she gulped her food.

"Uh, what language are you speaking?" asked Rei, fixing his glasses.

_Shit_, thought Haruka, _is she…a vampire?_

"I'm afraid we may have not what you are looking for," said Makoto, trying to keep his confidence level up, "This is Japan…and you're in one of the villages called Sametsuka…"

"WHAT!?" replied Izawa, stunned, "YOU GUYS HAVE NO VAMP BARS?! WHERE AM I GONNA TO FEED?"

Makoto jumped behind Nagisa for like the third time as he was shaken again.

Haruka sighed and answered, "Well we did had some unusual monsters that lurked here."

"Haruka!" snapped Makoto, "Is that even necessary!?"

"Oh?" asked Izawa as her eyebrow lifted a little, "What kinds? Half-foxes? Or Vlansors?"

"More like…various kinds," said Rin, "There was a gigantic snake/tentacle like monster with multiple heads…and then we had one a long time ago with a gigantic fish that ate some people back at my campus."

"Was that necessary, Rin?" asked Makoto.

"Meh, those various kinds don't seem to interest me; can I just have the cook boy?" replied Izawa.

Nitori turned towards Izawa and said, "Seeing that you are different…do you by chance, drink blood? Or whole?"

"EH!?" gasped Nagisa as he and Makoto held hands tightly.

"Yup!" she replied, "Only high quality too!"

Nitori sighed and took out a small knife and wondered if he could use some of his own blood just for her to calm her senses down.

"Wait!" said Makoto ,"Nitori-chan!"

"If I do this…can you promise us?" asked Nitori, staring at Izawa carefully.

"Hmm?" she replied.

"If I give you some of my blood, I will grant you to stay here so you don't have to run off or whatever," said Nitori, "Seeing that you just got here; you'll need to learn and understand what we have gone through to make it this far."

"That's enough Nitori," said Rin.

"Ugh, that doesn't sound fun," sighed Izawa as she got up from her chair, saying, "I'll just go hunting, see y'all around!"

"Uh! Sora-chan!" said Nagisa but the girl vanished before their eyes.

"Um guys…" sighed Rei.

"So much for trying to help," sighed Nitori as he sat back down, "Miko…"

"I don't think she's really a threat though, but she is wild," said Rei.

"We can't let this go too far though; we don't know what she'll end up doing to this town," replied Haruka.

Makoto nodded but his necklace suddenly glowed a little. The others felt their necklaces talking to them as the Suiei Gods' voices echoed in the room.

"Already?" asked Rin.

"We are out in the wilderness now, I have sensed that you got some interesting company," echoed Mastuoka.

"We got reports about Alex, he's home safe and sound and his Suiei will train him to use his powers," said Nanase's voice.

"We'll allow you guys to have SOME powers in hand in case of an emergency...but use it carefully..." instructed Tachibana, "they will not replenish."

"Very well then," nodded Haruka.

"Right," said Rin.

"Rei, I'd like you to keep an eye out for your new company…that person seems a bit interesting," echoed Ryugazaki's voice.

"Alright," nodded Rei.

_Where's Hazuki_, thought Nagisa, looking slightly concerned.

"Is something the matter Nagisa?" asked Haruka.

The blonde shook his head and said, "No, it's nothing."

Nitori took out his phone to check up on the schools. Not to his surprise, they're still closed but it was scheduled to be opened by Thursday.

"Exams will start next weds…for both Iwatobi and Sametsuka," said Nitori.

"Both…schools?" asked Rin, confused, "But why did Sametsuka closed down?"

"Iwatobi was the only school that was damaged," said Haruka as he recalled back during the conflict in the auditorium when Alex was here.

"I guess we'll just, rest here then?" asked Rei.

"I wish you all to stay here, I do have some rooms available for you guys," replied Nitori.

"Well that's good then, Nito-chan," said Gou as she got up, still confused and lost on the whole scenario of Izawa's food and her hunts.

The others got up and they were led to their respective rooms to sleep…

* * *

**Santa Monica, Lost Angeles**

Back in the states, Alex sat on his bed, staring out at the moonlight. His brother was already sleeping in his own room. He was happy to be back but he missed the others quite terribly.

His eyes were tired and heavy as he finally shut them and lay down.

* * *

The young man opened his eyes and sees swirls of light drifting around him, they fused together as Alex gasped.

"Se-sergi! Whaat?!" he cried out, reaching out to him.

Before he could lay his hands on his brother, the boy melted into blood and guts, leaving not even a trace of a skeleton or bones.

"SERGI!" screamed Alex as he saw the pool of blood before him, he fell to his knees and heard voices from behind.

He turned to see Haruka, Rei, Gou, and the others standing before him.

"You didn't protect him, did you?" asked Haruka.

"No! We did save him, the Suiei Gods were…" began Alex.

"But it appears that what you have done…is only going to make an uncertain future..." said Makoto.

Haruka begins to melt away into blood and guts as the boy screamed and tried to reach to his hand but it melted away before his eyes. He watched in horror as the others melted away, laughing at him.

"No…STOP THIS…STOP THIS!" he cried out.

He turned to see a shadowy figure from the distance, wearing a long cloak and a massive looking staff with shadowed energy swirling around.

Before Alex could call out, his own body was beginning to melt as he screamed in horror…

* * *

Alex woke up and gasped, breathing heavily and deeply as his whole body was shaken from the nightmare.

The lights suddenly turned on as he turned to see Sergio standing at the door way at the same time Suiei Marotta floated in as the both parties were a bit in an awkward silence.

"W-wh…who are you?" asked Sergio, stunned by the strange figure floating before them.

"Have no fear," said Suiei Marotta, "Your brother will be okay.

"Brother!" cried Sergio as he rushed to his side, "Are you alright?"

Alex nodded as his younger brother hugged him, saying, "Yeah, it was just a bad dream."

"I'll stay with you," said the younger brother, "I don't want you to feel scared anymore."

"Brother, I don't want you to worry," smiled Alex.

"But I do worry!" he replied, "I mean, that's what brothers are for…right?"

Alex smiled and said, "That's right…and…you can see him too?"

"Who that?" asked the younger brother as he pointed to the Suiei God, "Who is he? He looks like someone from the ancient times."

"I am…well, let's say I am a guardian of his…a protector…but I have come here to keep an eye on both of you, is that good enough?" asked Suiei Marotta.

"I guess so," replied Sergio, "Let's sleep together then and we'll talk more in the morning."

Alex chuckled as Sergio sat on the chair to watch is brother rest while the Suiei God floated to the side and closed his eyes also. Tomorrow was going to be a big day for them and training has only begun.

* * *

**Back in Japan…**

During the last several hours, the girl in a sundress looked around as she simply walked around the streets. She was looking for prey and everyone in town seemed tasty enough in her current condition. She regretted saying no to the cook boy, he was a very tasty smelling boy, the best actually.

But being tied to promises was a lay back and she was not going through with that. She didn't want to care, too much trouble back at home that needed to be fixed.

"I can't believe I fell down a rabbit hole... boy Destiny is being mean to us Serah, Ana..." sighed Izawa.

She finally found a lonely looking boy that smelled especially delicious. She neared him looking as innocently as she could and asked for directions and after the boy decided to help her get "home" she took advantage of a dark corner and dug her fangs in his neck, sucking gently and making sure she wasn't making the boy feel unpleasant... since her own morphine only caused her prey to go to sleep.

She released him and set him on a bench with her newly regained strength and so decided she's roam around a bit more before attempting to find a place to sleep... boy she sure knew how to get in trouble...

* * *

**The Next Day: Late Evening**

After a full day of waiting for their visitor to return, they all decided to break it down and try to pinpoint her location somewhere.

"I can't believe we let her escape," said Haruka as he paced back and forth, "Who knows what she did out there?"

_I swear_, thought Nitori,_ if she lays her hands on my Mikoshiba…_

"You guys, that girl…she's a lot like Serah but ruder," said Gou.

"I should have just gave her my blood," sighed Nitori.

"No...there's something about her that is more dangerous," said Makoto, "I didn't like that aura going around her."

"But didn't you see her? She seems more lost than anything," answered Gou.

"Sora-chan might be scary but she did look lost..." agreed Nagisa.

"I personally think she's dangerous because she's lost," said Rei while doing the megane look.

"We'll have to make sure she stays with us," replied Rin.

"How? She vanishes into thin air..." answered Rei, "And she's certainly quick about it."

"Well, we got some of our powers to use..." said Haruka as he finally sat down, "we'll have to use it carefully…or else we'll waste it on nothing."

"Why not just try to convince her?" asked Gou, "Maybe some talk with her can settle her down."

"That's even if we find her," said Makoto as he got up, heading to the door. Haruka followed him out while Rin stumbled his way over.

"How will we find her, Mako-chan?" asked Nagisa.

Makoto closed his eyes and concentrated on his necklace, hoping that his could sense something out there.

"I owe it to Serah to figure her friend out," muttered Gou as she got up and joined the others by the outside porch.

Makoto's eyes turned green as the others were stunned to see the limited magic actually working. However, he turned to Rin, saying, "Rin, help me out, would you?"

"Sure," said Rin as his eyes turned neon red with the x-ray vision from his Suiei abilities. The two scanned around to find any traces of evidence when they saw something scary.

"Rin!" gasped Nagisa, "Did you see something?"

"I see someone…a few blocks away in the district," said Rin, "Looks like his neck got injured."

The others gasped as they realized that since Izawa was a vampire…

"Oh boy, she did mean when she said hunting," said Nagisa.

Rin and Makoto turned off their neon eyes and turned back to the others.

"You guys want to join us?" asked Rin.

"I'll stay here," said Rei, "She might come back…she does seem crazy enough."

"I'll go with Mako-chan," replied Nagisa.

"I'll go," nodded Makoto.

"Since I owe Serah…and I'm a girl; I might be able to help out!" replied Gou.

"Fine, I will stay," said Haruka, "You four better be careful."

"Be careful out there!" added Nitori.

"Right!" replied Makoto, Nagisa, Rin, and Gou as they dashed out, heading to the downtown area.

* * *

After about 10 minutes of running and searching, they finally found a small corner to an alley where they saw the man resting on the bench. Makoto walked up to the man and placed his fingers on the neck, checking for a pulse.

"His skin is cold," said Makoto, "The pulse is barely there…it's weak."

"He can't be!" shouted a voice behind them.

The group turned to see Izawa, looking a bit panicked and shocked on the man that she drank the blood of last night.

"You did this, didn't you?" asked Makoto.

"I didn't drink that much, right?" replied Izawa.

"If his skin is cold…" began Rin.

"Well yes," she replied, looking slightly nervous, "but he can't be dying!"

Finally, Makoto had enough talk as he narrowed his eyes to the girl, "Tell me…what do you know about the human race?"

"M-makoto," said Rin.

"Well you can't use mana for one," replied Izawa, "Otherwise you're just like us."

"You may be right on that…" said Makoto as his eyes turned neon green, "But tell me if you considered us as human or not?"

"Makoto!" protested Nagisa.

"Yeah, yeah, humans are weak and all…oh shit! You're eyes dude!" gasped Izawa.

"I see your mood has changed," said Makoto.

"Well yeah, normal humans can't do that, you're elven or something?" asked Izawa.

"Makoto!" snapped Rin, "This isn't necessary right now!"

"We are not elven," replied the tall boy, "We are just normal humans…well…once upon a time we were more than human."

"Is the kid dying?" asked Izawa, annoyed.

"I guess you left me no other choice," said Makoto as he took out his vase and looked at it carefully.

"The hell!?" gasped Rin, "How did that vase ended up with you?!"

"Whoa there," said Izawa, "That's some ridiculous amount of mana you got there! You sure you wanna use that against me?"

Makoto ignored her and turned to the man, chanting, "Waters of the medicine…please allow this man to live for a while longer…so he may enjoy his life to the fullest."

He poured the silvery liquid out of the vase onto the cut where it sealed shut as Makoto checked for a stronger pulse.

"He'll wake up soon," he muttered as his eyes turned back to normal.

Izawa sighed and answered, "You know, I was more than willing to do that... and I have stronger powers now that I'm full."

"Filled of what? Human blood?" asked Rin.

"Well, full of energy that's for sure," said Izawa, "I can't channel mana correctly here so if I don't drink and keep myself under control I can cause a cataclysm."

The others gasped as they looked at her as if she was mad or something.

"A-a cataclysm?" asked Nagisa, getting a bit nervous himself.

"Well not a huge global scale…but you can definitely kiss this town goodbye," replied Izawa.

Makoto tried to calm himself down and said, "Please come back with us. We need to explain ourselves so you can at least understand to how things are the way they are here."

"Uh no thanks," replied Izawa.

"But if you keep this up, the people will begin to suspect what is happening," answered Rin.

"Umm Sora-chan... you know Serah right? I'm a good friend of hers... can't you just come over and hear us out?" asked Gou.

"Firstly, ruby eyes…nobody will suspect a thing. They never do, I've done this with Serah other times they never notice," replied the girl, "Secondly, I'm sure I can hear you out here, I don't care if you know the Princess, she taught me not to trust anyone from the get go... specially those who say they know her."

"Mako-chan... can't we talk to her here? We can kill that bird here you know," said Nagisa, standing by Makoto.

"First off...this is planet Earth...you are in a country called Japan," said Rin, trying to hold his cool, "Second, the people here are very sensitive to each other. When someone dies, the people desire to know why and how it was caused…it's the nature of humans to…"

"I am not a child! And people are like that everywhere!" snapped Izawa.

"Well you seem to make it so easy..." replied Rin as he carefully tried to hold his teeth back.

"Look punks, you either tell me what you want with me or I will eat you both not the girl and the blondie they're being somewhat nice!" snapped the foreign girl, "OH and just so you know, where I come from we have The Guard, they make sure the law is followed and if not they execute you so shut up!"

Rin sighed as he answered, "As we said, we want you to stay with us…we got plenty of room. I understand that you may not like the choices we offer but at least have a place to rest yourself."

"Honestly who the hell do you think I am huh?!" snapped Izawa.

"Could we all calm down?" said Gou out loud.

"Makoto, Rin maybe instead of telling her to stay…can we explain a bit more?" asked Nagisa, "About ourselves…?"

"I suppose we got no other choice," said Rin, "You start, Mako-chan."

Makoto nodded as he stood out and looked at Izawa, "You see, we are not always like this…we were once a brotherhood called the Suiei Gods…we made this world's ocean, the seas, the clouds, anything here that involves with water…"

"We were tasked by the universe that the elements are to remain stable," added Nagisa.

"When the human population began to colonize, we assumed our human-like forms...but not like what you see us now. We made friends along the way...but we were betrayed..." explained Makoto

"Betrayed by the same people...but one of them...gave his own life...and split it to the five of us..." said Rin, "It was myself, Makoto, Rei, Haruka, and Nagisa…the gods placed part of their souls in our bodies…and we were born into this modern era as we became competitors for swimming."

"We developed a big friendship along the way," smiled Nagisa, "We were bonded between ourselves and the gods that watched over us."

"However, after much journey, we realized that we were stuck in a time loop...with all of the events that we were telling you, kept repeating itself..." said Makoto sadly, "We never got to embrace ourselves as real humans since part of ourselves had the soul of the gods inside."

"Thankfully, our old friends intervened and saved our future...and we were born again in this timeline..." said Rin, "But our powers are limited...we can only use our abilities if we are given permission...or if we are with our gods."

Makoto took out his necklace and showed it to Izawa, saying, "These possess our powers...but they're suppressed...but they also allow us to communicate with our gods."

"So then, do you kinda understand at least…the basics?" asked Rin.

"Well that's a nice story, got all of it and I admit it was interesting," said Izawa, nodding, "Just one tinsy itsy question. Why do you want me to stick around with you guys? I have nothing to do with you petty minor gods."

"Well one thing for sure," answered Rin, "You have your own powers…and so do we. Perhaps we can figure out how to get your way back home…or to your world per say."

"Oh I know how to get back. Serah said that she'd come for me," replied Izawa.

"Serah was already here," said Makoto.

"Well I'm here because Destiny wanted me here to help out instead of Serah," she replied.

The others seemed a bit confused on the response.

"I don't understand…" said Rin.

"Well I sincerely couldn't care less, but Destiny is a bitch and she told me I could drink all I wanted…" began Izawa.

Suddenly there was a loud bang coming from one of the buildings nearby.

"This always happens," sighed Makoto.

"Oh now…it's too late at night…c'mon," said Izawa, annoyed.

"What should we do now?" asked Nagisa.

"As always, we better go and see," replied Makoto.

"Right," nodded Gou.

"Or I could just put out the damn fire and be done with this mess and find myself a good place to sleep," muttered Izawa when she saw the others running off.

"HEY WAIT!" called Izawa as she followed them.

They arrived to see a fire going on at some abandoned looking building as they smelled the gasoline.

"Ugh that gas smells nasty," muttered Makoto as he tried to hold his nose.

"You guys want to see anything?" asked Izawa.

Rin nodded as he covered his mouth to hold back the gas from getting inside.

"Ugh you guys are such amateurs!" said the foreign girl as she stepped out in front of them and casted, "I pray thee Earthly Magic, turn the flames down, extinguish with water."

A sudden impact of rain smoothed out the fires, turning to steam and eventually disappeared.

"Looks like this place was an office," said Rin, "Let's go!"

"Well that worked thankfully," smiled Izawa, "You guys go on ahead."

The four rushed inside the building and saw several desks that were messy along with a few file cabinets. However, there was one particular safe that had a name written on it. Makoto walked up to it and gasped.

"What's the matter Makoto?" asked Rin.

"This…this can't be!" gasped the taller boy.

"What is it!? Huh!?" asked Nagisa as he walked up to see.

"Miho Amakata…" said Makoto, "Our old teacher!"

"What?!" gasped Gou, "Sensei!?"

"Oh, so she's a teacher?" asked Rin.

"She was…our homeroom and literature…" replied Makoto.

"So then what we are going to do?" asked Nagisa.

"This is beginning to suspect me," muttered the taller boy, "What was she before a teacher?"

"Well she did that bathing suit model based rom the magazine scans," blushed Nagisa, "As Marin-chan…"

"No…before that," said Makoto, "That's not relevant to what she's up to now."

Before the others could answer, he took out the phone and selected the app that Rei handed out to him and the others a while ago, hoping that it will unlock the safe.

"Makoto! This isn't a good idea!" said Rin.

But the other boy wasn't listening as he tapped random numbers on the phone to unlock the code. After a few moments, the safe opened and the knob was unlocked.

"Um, I don't think that's a good idea Tachibana-san…" said Gou, "What if there's…"

Makoto opened the door and saw a file folder inside with a handful of documents in it. The other three peaked over his shoulder to see what was going on.

"NO!" gasped Makoto, "It…it can't be."

"What's the matter?" asked Rin.

"Mako-chan!?" gasped Nagisa.

Rin took some of the papers and was stunned, "This…this is…"

"The copy of the censorship bill," finished Makoto as he fell to his knees. Nagisa hugged around him, reassuring that things will be alright again.

"There's also a copy of the Suiei Gods," said Rin.

"But…how does she even know who we are?" asked Makoto.

"What if she knew of the time loop…or worse…she was in it?" guessed Gou.

"Her signature is on one of the pages where the bill was passed," replied Rin as he continued to analyze the documents, "Is she….working for the government or something? But why this censorship?"

"She even knows of Erastos, Acacius and Nikon," said Rin as he saw the names written down next to Nitori, Mikoshiba and Gou respectively.

"Maybe she allowed this censorship in order to hide and prevent chaos?" asked Makoto, "I mean…we got Alex as our 6th member and he discovered us through hacking or whatever he did back in the states."

"Perhaps if anything got leaked," said Gou, "The government will try to hide it back?"

"We're taking this stuff back," replied Rin as he was heading out the door, holding the files, "The others…including Alex need to know."

"Alex has his own problems to deal with," said Makoto, "He's gone through a lot…"

"That boy has a right to know," argued Rin, "He's a part of us too."

"Alex-chan has a right to know," agreed Nagisa, "I know you're worried sick but he's our member too now."

"I guess you're right," sighed Makoto, "However…Rei did tell me that he was spying on ama-chan while he was at Iwatobi."

Nagisa remained silent as he recalled that day while Iwatobi was still intact, Alex sat by the wall to listen to the sensei and Rei called him out that he was spying. Perhaps Alex knew something?

"In any case we should go and ask Rei if he knows right?" asked Nagisa.

"We better," said Makoto, "and we have to get our guest to stay with us…"

"I don't think that's gonna be easy," sighed Rin.

"Maybe instead of getting her to cooperate…why not offer her something in return?" asked Gou.

"But what do we have to offer?" replied Makoto, "Unless if I make something with my vase or…"

"Ugh, you guys are not thinking right!" said Gou, "She liked Nitori…right?"

She grinned maliciously as she had an idea striking her mind.

"But he's not gonna like this! He's Erastos!" replied Rin, "And if we lose him…"

"Gou! That's really not a good idea!" agreed Nagisa.

"Unless if he has something up his sleeve," said Makoto.

"Hey! I'm just putting it out there. She's crazy alright but she doesn't want to kill anyone," replied Gou.

_I thought…doesn't he love Mikoshiba_, thought Rin, _they would get close at times those two…_

Makoto sighed and said, while his eyes glowed neon green, "Well then, I guess we got no other choice…but I swear, if she even tries to hurt our friends."

"Makoto!" snapped Rin as the green eyes' flickered off.

"We get it Makoto-kun" sighed Gou, "I'll keep her out of trouble with the best of my abilities...promise."

"Mako-chan, calm down," smiled Nagisa as he held Makoto's hand. Makoto nodded and felt a bit more relaxed with the blonde by his side.

"Let's go then," said Rin, "I'll tell her what we've decided to do…along with these files here. The others need to read this."

"Yeah," nodded Nagisa.

"Let's get going," said Gou.

The four walked their way back out and saw Izawa sitting on top of one of the buildings above. As soon as she saw them, she jumped her way back down to see if they were all alright.

"We got a mystery to uncover," explained Rin as he held up the files, "And…I'll convince Nitori to grant you permission to drink his blood…if needed…no contracts, no deals…or at least not in a sense that you have to do certain things."

Izawa blinked twice and smiled, "Cook boy?!"

"Yeah, him…now let's go. We don't have any more time to waste here," replied Rin.


	3. Chapter 2: Untrusted Truth

**_Chapter 2: 信頼されていない真実_****_Untrusted Truth_**

The five returned to the house as they saw Haruka and Rei sitting outside talking while Nitori was inside cleaning some stuff out of the way.

"We're back yo!" called Rin as he waved out.

"How did it go?" asked Haruka.

"Well she's here now," said Nagisa.

Makoto walked up to Haruka and handed him the files from Rin, saying, "Here. We found something interesting on someone we know very well."

"Just wait here guys; I'll get Nitori," said Rin as he walked inside.

While they waited for Rin and Nitori, Izawa asked, "So…let me get this straight; I stay here, you guys feed me?"

"Something like that," nodded Haruka.

"Yeah, pretty much so," smiled Gou.

"Something like that?" asked Izawa, getting suspicious.

"It's all good," said Haruka, "Once Rin talks to Nitori, things will be alright and on the move."

* * *

"Did she?" asked Nitori.

"Yeah we got her back. Listen, I know you want to set up a contract or whatever, but she doesn't do anything formal like that…but as long as you take care of her, she'll stay. Can you do that?" asked Rin.

"I understand, I guess there's nothing much else to do," replied Nitori, "And thanks senpai."

Rin chuckled and answered, "Been a while since you said that."

"I figured it would lighten things up a bit," blushed Nitori, "I'll see what I can do to get her attention."

They walked outside as they saw the others hanging out.

"Hey there cook boy," winked Izawa.

"What's up?" asked Nitori while trying to look smexy with his Sametsuka Jacket.

"Oh?" blushed Izawa, "You really look as tasty as you smell."

"If you still plan to be fed, please be gentle," replied Nitori as he prepared his neck, "I don't know how strong I can handle bites…but I'll do my best."

Izawa blushed a bit more and said, "I…I-uh, I'm full right now so no need for y-you to do that... hahaha..."

The others kinda stared blankly at her until Rin walked to Haruka, asking, "So then, are you surprised?"

"I am a little stunned," replied Haruka, "But…why? What is she doing on these papers?"

"Apparently she is secretly working for the government…and our legend also," sighed Makoto.

"That means…she's either on one side of the fence or the other," answered Haruka.

They turned to see Rei sleeping on the bench swing on the porch.

"Did he fell asleep?" asked Rin.

"A bit after you guys left," said Haruka, "It is getting dark out here, we should probably go back inside."

"But what about her allegiance?" asked Nagisa, "What could she be working for exactly?"

"The Haus of the Heavens maybe?" suggested Makoto, "That organization that Alex talked about earlier…with the illusion of that person that Alex wanted to kill and all of that?"

"I don't think it would exist if it was part an illusion…would it?" asked Rin.

"Maybe it's something that exists outside of this world?" suggested Gou.

"Um Gou, isn't that a bit farfetched?" asked Nagisa.

"Arogean is defeated...the Dark Code does not exist in this timeline..." said Haruka as he turned the pages and gasped.

"Did you see something?" asked Makoto.

"Haus of the Heavens...it does exist...but...it's being led by the current governor of Tokyo...and Ama-chan is somehow related to this guy..." answered Haruka, "His name is kinda censored out here…they say that they do partnerships with other businesses around the globe; particularly the global-related markets."

"Oh that's great," sighed Nagisa, "Just another means to use power to do certain desires on others."

Haruka turned the page and saw the information of the Censorship Bill and the Curfew Laws and was even more stunned on what he read.

"What's the matter?" asked Gou.

"The reason they censored this…" began Haruka as he looked up at the night sky, "They're after the miracle of the Suiei Gods!"

"I guess we have a major problem here, far major than anything..." replied Gou.

"Oh that's just great," sighed Rin, "We got a new organization that needs to be dealt with…we had the Dark Code, the SCX…Deception MIA and now this!"

"But the recent miracle…the cure for the non-verbal people…" said Makoto, "It was just a miracle…there hasn't been an official breakthrough yet, right?"

"It doesn't matter," answered Haruka, "From what it says here, they are after the magic."

"Then we'll just chop their heads off right?" asked Izawa.

Rin face-palmed his head with Gou rolled her eyes in slight disgust.

"I think that's a bit too violent," said Nagisa.

"Wow, you really do hang a lot with Serah," said Gou.

"Just saying; cut the problem at the roots," replied Izawa.

"I think we had enough for the day," said Makoto, "Let's go Nagisa."

Rin walked over to the room where Rei was sleeping as Makoto and Nagisa drifted off to their space and cuddled together.

Haruka closed the file folder and walked to the bathroom to splash some water at his face.

_Oh Alex, I wished I could see you again_, thought Haruka, _we are having a new problem now... and we need your help._

He stared at himself in the mirror's reflection for a few moments before he walked back to the couch and rest.

"Umm, Iza-chan, you wanna sleep with me?" asked Gou.

"I'll take the couch like Haru, I don't want to bother anyone," replied Izawa.

"Well then, good night," sighed Gou as she walked to her guest bedroom.

* * *

**Tokyo Office: Haus of the Heavens**

Miho Amakata (ama-chan, or Marin-chan) walked through the hallways with some tall, suited men, heading to the main office where the governor of Tokyo waited.

The guards held the door open as she walked in and saw Kouta standing at the outside part of his suite office. He turned his head to see her and smiled.

"I have returned," said Miho.

"Yes, it's been quite a handful of years since we had that last talk…" smiled the governor.

"The illusion has been vanished…the boy gained his power," she answered.

"So he became a Suiei after all," he muttered, growling to himself.

"He also seemed to have recovered his memories of himself as the ancient warrior from Macedonia," she replied.

"I was a ninja back in the time loop, serving Arogean's wishes...but of course...he planned out my death by turning me into those creatures thanks to his cursed gifts..." said Kouta, "I was so ready to kill Arogean but the Suiei Gods did the dirty work for me…but here I am, governor of Tokyo."

"You have developed quite a bit as well," she answered.

"Indeed I have...I may have lost my abilities as a warrior...but I have gained this new kind of power... and that will ensure all materials from being leaked out to the public," he replied.

"It won't be long before that boy returns...what do you plan to do?" asked Miho.

Kouta turned around and walked back to the glass windows as he looked over the Tokyo skyline, saying, "The school has been repaired...Iwatobi will start again...Thursday. Resume to your normal ways for now...and I'll give you a call."

Miho bowed and gave her thanks while she left the room.

_Suiei Gods_, thought Kouta, _you are nothing but a nuisance...thankfully, I have made preparations... too bad I couldn't keep my illusion for long...it would be nice to see a death of a Suiei God...but no matter...it all begins...now._

* * *

**Next Morning:**

Rin woke up and turned his head to see Rei still sleeping. He yawned and stretched a little while resting his hand on the megane's shoulder.

"You still want to sleep?" asked Rin.

"Mhmmm," mouthed Rei.

"Fine. I'll let you be. However, we found some important shit last night that you might want to read… it's about one of your teachers...I think her name was Miho Amakata," replied Rin.

Rei turned lazily to face Rin and replied, "Ama-chan?"

"Yeah...apparently she was one of the people who signed the bill...that allowed the censorship to occur," said Rin.

"Oh I already know that…" yawned Rei as he closes his eyes.

"You...do? Well then, we also found out that has a copy of the Legend of the Suiei Gods. She knows our existence Rei…and this may be serious," replied Rin.

"Okay," muttered Rei, "I'll look at it as soon as I wake up."

Rin nodded and got up and walked out of the room.

* * *

In a different room, Makoto woke up and turned to see Nagisa sleeping lightly.

"You awake, Nagi-chan?" asked Makoto.

The blonde woke up and yawned a little as he got on his sitting position, "Yeah."

Makoto gave him a cute kiss on the cheek and Nagisa replied with the same kiss on the opposite cheek, smiling.

"Morning to you," smiled Nagisa.

"I guess we better get ready for this new day…I'll miss you though when you go back to class," said Makoto.

"It'll be alright," said Nagisa, "It's not like I'll stay in there forever."

Makoto nodded and replied, "I know ...but...you'll have to be careful around ama-chan. You and Rei better keep an eye out and make sure nothing goes suspicious."

"I know, we'll be fine Mako-chan, you'll see," answered the blonde.

Makoto moved in to Nagisa's face as they drenched a deep kiss with their tongues. Once they took a breath, Makoto smiled and said, "I love you."

"I love you too," giggled Nagisa.

"Dang, I can smell breakfast from here; let's go then, shall we?" asked Makoto.

"Yeah! Hehe!" said Nagisa as they both got up.

* * *

Haruka woke up on the couch and saw Izawa also sleeping on the other couch. He turned to see Rin walking in to the living room along with Makoto and Nagisa.

"Hey there," said Rin, "You slept on the couch too last night?"

"Morning Haru," smiled Makoto.

"Morning Haru-chan," giggled Nagisa.

"I guess it ended up that way," sighed Haruka as he took out the files and looked at the papers again briefly before tossing them to the side, "And could you please drop the –chan?"

"Does Nitori need help?" asked Makoto as he saw him cooking and preparing some ingredients.

"We can always hover over and check," replied Nagisa.

"I do need some dishes and plates ready," called Nitori.

"Okay!" said Makoto.

"Should we get her up?" asked Haruka, looking at Izawa sleeping peacefully.

"Maybe you should get her up?" replied Nagisa.

"Um…I don't know if that's a good idea," said Haruka, "Maybe the food will."

"Perhaps," said the blonde, sweat dropping a little, "But she does look beat though."

"Rin, did you tell Rei yet?" asked Haruka.

"I did," he answered, "He said he'll be up soon…he's like really tired lately."

"He'll be fine," smiled Makoto as he walked in to the kitchen to get the plates.

"Yeah, everyone gets in that lazy phase now and then," agreed Nagisa as he followed Makoto to set the table up.

A few moments later, Gou skipped her way to the room, looking bright and cheerful, "Morning! What's for breakfast?"

Rei followed right after as he said after a yawn, "She dragged me here…morning guys…"

"We got some omelets, pancakes, fresh fruit, bacon…a bit more of an American-like culture, but I think it'll be worth to try," said Nitori.

"It does smell great!" replied Makoto.

"Yeah it does," agreed Rin.

"Yeah, it actually was enough to wake me up," blushed Rei.

The gang feasted on the beautiful breakfast while Nitori set some of the food aside for Izawa. Even though he was aware of what she primarily consumed…he wanted to at least give her a chance to try something different…and at least being polite.

_I just hope what Mikoshiba taught me…works out well_, he thought.

The gang discussed, while eating breakfast, about the current issues with the Government and their plans and connections to ama-chan.

Rin decided to break the conversation and asked, "Are there going to be classes back in session?"

"From what the phone has shown, yeah…classes begin on Thursday," replied Rei.

"But…" began Makoto.

"Oh Mako-chan, I can always skip school if you get too lonely," said Nagisa.

"I would say yes…but the current situation isn't great right now…plus you're about to graduate," replied Makoto.

"We can't let ama-chan get away with this," said Haruka as he read the files again, this time, he saw something that he didn't read over last night.

"Hmm…it appears that the one who discovered the miracle…will be their target," he gasped as he knew what was going to happen.

"Oh no!" gasped Nagisa, shocked.

"Alex…" said Rin, "He's their target? But how do they know that was…"

"Just a guess?" asked Makoto.

Haruka found a set of photos inside and was horrified to see what they have shown.

"What's wrong?" asked Rin.

"H-haruka-senpai?" asked Rei.

Nagisa and Makoto looked over Haruka's shoulders and Makoto kinda shook with fear a little as he saw the blood from the auditorium.

"The blood…is that Alex's?" asked Nagisa.

"The monster…when it bit Alex's arm, they must have collected it," answered Haruka, "Don't you guys remember back in the Time Loop? Arogean said that our blood was something value in it….if they see that in Alex's….they'll be hot on the trail."

Izawa yawned finally as she got up, saying, "I sense a disturbance in the force…umm…guys…you woke me up. What's the entire ruckus?"

"Haruka, we have to get Alex!" said Nagisa, "He'll be in great danger!"

* * *

**Santa Monica, Los Angeles, CA**

Alex woke up and saw his brother sleeping on the chair to his right.

"Brother…" he smiled gently.

Sergio woke up slowly, and yawned, "Huh? Oh…good morning."

Suiei Marotta drifted to the window and saw the beautiful sunrise in the east and looked to the other window and saw the ocean as peaceful.

"Alex, after your breakfast, it will be time for you to train," said the Suiei.

"Training…for what?" asked Sergi.

"For his own safety…he'll learn how to use…um…magic," replied the Suiei God.

"Oh!" smiled Sergi, clapping his hands, "I love magic tricks!"

"Um brother," replied Alex, "This isn't want you think it is…"

"What do you mean?" asked Sergi.

"Oh um…well we better get moving; our parents are waiting for us," said the older brother.

"Yeah, let's go," smiled the younger brother.

The two rushed down the stairs and saw their parents already having their coffee and breakfast ready.

"About time you both woke up," said dad, annoyed.

"Tony, don't get too harsh," replied his mother, Armeta, "They are just as tired…"

"Okay ma," he replied with a hint of annoyance.

"Morning," said Sergi, trying to be as innocent.

Already, Alex was annoyed at his father for that attitude. He kept silent for he knew that if he showed a sign of blowing up, his father would go right at him.

After the boys at some breakfast, they both rushed out and saw the beautiful beach right before their eyes. The ocean was beautiful and peaceful as the skies were as clear as crystal.

"So beautiful!" smiled Sergi.

"Yeah," agreed Alex, "It is nice…"

Suiei Marotta appeared before them, saying, "It is time…"

"Sergi, move to the side by the cliff there, I don't want you to get injured," said Alex.

"But I wanna stay close to you," he answered.

"I…well, just trust me, okay?" asked the older brother.

The younger brother nodded and kept his distance as he waited for something cool to happen. He watched as he saw swirls of magical water flowing around between the human and the ghostly-like figure.

"Wow…" muttered Sergi, "Is this what he means by magic?"

"Waters of Travel, send me to safety!" chanted Alex as he vanished and reappeared on the Cliffside of the beach. After a moment or two, he reappeared in front of his Suiei.

It was like another 20 minutes or so when the two were practicing battle defense and attack. The older brother made a punch towards the god while the latter defensed it and said, "Now use that spell I taught you!"

"Waters of thy fist…smash through that barrier!" he chanted.

A gigantic fist of water smashed at the rocks nearby, turning them into sand or smaller chunks of rubble. Sergi was just stunned to see what was all happening.

"Damn," said Alex, "This is quite a bit of work."

"It's only your second spell," sighed Suiei Marotta, "Look. Just focus on your heart…your feelings and emotions are the key to how you use your magic. You have to ignore what is going on around you."

Alex nodded while his brother was entertained by that magical blast earlier when the waters smashed to the rocks. Sergi wanted to watch closer at what was happening when he saw a blinding flash of light from the two.

"AAAAH!" cried Alex as he closed his eyes from the blinding glow of his necklace.

"What's going on?" gasped Suiei Marotta when he closed his eyes and realized that it was the other gods, "Brothers…you on?"

"Yeah; barely though it's a bit difficult to get a signal that we got here," echoed Suiei Nanase.

"What's going on?" asked Marotta.

"The boy is targeted for the miracle that happened when we used our magic to help the non-verbal people," replied Suiei Matsuoka.

"WHAT?!" he cried out, stunned, "I don't understand...for whom is he targeted by?"

"Marotta, the priority right now is to get the boy and his people to safety, don't you think?" asked Ryugazaki.

"Yes but…well," sighed the other god, "I guess there's no other option. Explain to me later what goes on, okay?"

"Understood," said Matsuoka.

"Haruka says hi by the way," added Nanase.

"Well that will at least cheer Alex up a bit. Thank you," said Marotta and the light was disconnected.

Sergi rushed out to them, worried about that flash of light he saw.

"Are you okay!? Brother?!" cried Sergi.

"What's going on?" asked Alex.

"You boys have to hide...we cannot stay here," answered Suiei Marotta, "We'll have to fly to Phoenix Arizona with your grandparents."

"But they can get back…right?" asked Sergi.

"That's not the point little one," replied the Suiei, "All of you have to get to Phoenix. It's one of the few safe spots left."

"We're gonna be okay, brother," said Alex, "Just trust me. We have to get back to Phoenix."

"But the house…" began Sergi.

"It'll be alright...our grandparents need the assistance anyway," replied the other brother.

Suiei Marotta nodded and the trio set off to convince the family of returning to Phoenix. After much questioning and improvising, the family managed to purchase the tickets and they all set forth for the journey to the city of the desert.

* * *

**Back in Japan…**

"This is really bad," said Makoto, "Haru what are we going to do?"

"We…we can't get him now," replied Haruka, "The government will most likely be checking the airports…and our magic is limited."

"Um okay…did the world break or something?" asked Izawa, slightly confused.

"It's not about the world…yet," answered Rin.

"…I'm going tomorrow…to the school and see what goes on with ama-chan," said Makoto.

"Makoto! We don't know how we can even…" began Rin.

"Oh I know what needs to be done," replied the taller boy, "We have to see what ama-chan is really up to now…but that will require some form of breaking in without being caught."

"I don't think they will accept visitors since the finals are near," nodded Haruka.

"We can handle this," said Nagisa, "I'll try to talk to ama-chan as a distraction."

"Do you have the teacher schedule, Rei?" asked Haruka.

"I should have it on my phone somewhere," replied the megane.

"Um…riddle me this," said Izawa, "You guys have mana but you can't use it?"

"It's rather complicated," replied Makoto.

"Ugh, I'm going to go out…" she replied.

"You hungry?" asked Nitori as he presented her a plate of food, "I'd like to give you something to eat."

Izawa's eyes sparkled and her mouth watered as she replied, "YOU! You…saved some for me!?"

"Well I figured it was the right thing to do," blushed Nitori as he handed over the plate.

"Aw, thanks!" she replied almost wanting to cry with joy but she sat down at ate happily.

Nitori turned to the others and said, "Anyway guys, I think we got practice tomorrow...at least for the younger classmen but I'm supposed to be like the "assistant". However, I'll sneak in before then."

"That sounds brilliant!" replied Nagisa.

"You better be careful though Nitori," said Gou.

Nitori narrowed his eyes and answered, "I won't let our friend...our prince be in jeopardy."

"I- canth giveee you a concealing speleel?" mouthed Izawa while her mouth was filled with food.

"Huh? A what kind of spell?" asked the blonde.

"After Mikoshiba graduated, I have taken over the team for a bit but things have been tight now that the prefecturals are coming up," said Nitori, "But I'll do what needs to be done before then."

"So it's been decided?" asked Makoto.

"Makoto, Rin and myself we'll be outside hiding around while you Nagisa try to distract ama-chan," said Haruka, "And Rei and Kou will be back up to record anything."

"We got only one shot at this," muttered Makoto.

"Let's do this," smiled Nagisa.

"By the…" began Gou.

"Um no Kou," said Rei.

Rin looked at Rei, confused and asked, "What was that all about?"

"Huh?" replied Rei, "She…oh never mind."

* * *

**Days Later…**

Nitori walked up the stairs casually as the school was having their dismissal of students and were slowly beginning the afternoon activities.

"Hey Nagisa…Rei," called Nitori as he waved out.

"Nitori we hear ya loud and clear," replied Rei.

"Hi Ni-chan," said Nagisa.

"I'm off to check the pool and see if anyone is there but I'll be back," answered Nitori as he walked his way through the halls.

Meanwhile, Makoto, Rin and Haruka were in the school yard that led to the offices. They sat beneath the windows that displayed the teacher offices where ama-chan and some others were at.

"You guys hears us?" asked Makoto.

"Yes," replied Rei through the microphone.

"Perfect Mako-chan," answered Nagisa.

"Yup!" replied Gou.

Haruka looked over the window carefully and saw that it was empty inside of no teachers. Makoto took out an app on his phone and pointed it at the camera.

"Camera has been shut down," said Makoto, "Go now, Haru!"

Rin and Makoto lifted Haruka up to the window as the other boy climbed inside and hurried over to ama-chan's desk, looking for papers or documents that related to the government or Alex.

"Hurry!" said Rin, "Find anything suspicious!"

Haruka was having difficulty at first as the papers he kept seeing were graded papers and projects and other letters of recommendation. He walked up to a cabinet and opened Miho's files and found something. He grabbed it and saw some more data that was similar to the other files.

"A-Alex…" he muttered as he closed his eyes for a moment in concern.

"Hurry up!" shouted Makoto.

Haruka rushed back to the window and jumped through, landing hard on the grass.

"You guys found something?" asked Nitori through the headsets.

"Yeah," replied Haruka, "Have you seen ama-chan? Nagisa, Rei, or Kou?"

"Yup!" answered Gou, "Nagisa is taking to her…distractions."

"I see," replied Rin, "Haruka found something alright but we can't talk about it now; go on your normal acts but let us know if you find something."

"Right brother," said Gou as she watched Nagisa from behind the corner.

"Well I hope it settles all of your concerns, Hazuki-kun," smiled Miho, "I'm glad I was able to help you."

"Oh no worries, thanks so much ama-sensei," smiled Nagisa.

_Guys…hurry_, thought the blonde.

"I'll see you later then," said Miho as she headed to her office as one of the other teachers walked in just a few moments before she arrived to her desk.

"Miho, did you leave this drawer opened?" asked one of the teachers.

"The drawer? No…I left everything spotless," she answered as she sat in her seat and continued to grade the papers.

"Never mind then," said the other teacher as he got up and left the room.

"Hey guys," said Izawa through the microphones, "You need help? Is everything going in motion?"

"Everything is settled," replied Haruka, "Ama-chan is at her desk grading papers as if nothing happened."

Suddenly, the teacher's cell phone rang and Miho answered it Rin knew that this was a crucial moment as he prompt Makoto to turn back the camera on as the trio listened carefully.

"Yes…oh no. Everything went well," said Miho.

"Stage 2 has begun guys, you hear me?" asked Rin through the headsets.

"Roger that; I'm on standby," said Nitori, "There are a few students already but they're here early."

"Roger!" replied Nagisa.

Back in the office Miho sighed and answered, "I am aware of that...yes. We had this discussion last night. However, if he were to return back here...

"He needs to be killed…but his brother is required to stay alive for experimentation," replied Kouta on the other line of the phone.

Meanwhile Haruka looked over the papers again while Rin and Makoto were struggling to listen to the conversation.

"According to these papers…they have taken the blood from the auditorium," said Haruka, "When Alex was protecting me from the snake."

"And what did it say?" asked Rin.

"Positive," replied Haruka.

"No…"gasped Makoto, "It can't be…"

"The Suiei Gods are dangerous...you do realize that right? They have killed you before," said Miho.

"Yes...they have. But they had it easy...this time...it won't..." replied Kouta, "the cards are all set...the Haus of the Heavens are making their way to California...to go seek the family..."

"I suppose then the plan begins to move. We'll meet again," answered Miho as she hung up.

Nagisa was stunned and shocked to hear what was going on while Rin cried out, "Did you guys hear the conversation on the other line!?"

"Mako-chan…" replied Nagisa, "It's worse than we feared."

Miho Amakata walked past the trio, never noticing Gou, Nagisa, or Rei as she walked to the classroom.

"I'm on my way guys," said Nitori, rushing through the hallways, "I got the students to wait a few minutes!"

"Listen here," replied Rei over the microphones, "We need to get Alex, and it's now."

Nitori rushed through and saw Gou, Rei, and Nagisa standing by the entrance of the building.

"Nitori?" asked Rei, a bit confused, "But what about the swimming?"

"I told you I got them to wait a few minutes and I already made an improvised excuse," replied Nitori, "But what did they say on the phone?"

"They're having Alex's family kidnapped, more like they're gonna take full advantage of them; they're all in danger," answered Rei.

"Rei, why were you the only one who heard it all?" asked Gou, "Did you had some sort of a gadget or something?"

"That doesn't matter," replied Rei, "We have to get to them soon as we can!"

"We don't have the money right now to escape...nor the Suiei Gods are nearby to help us," said Haruka.

"Let's just hope he doesn't sign it off," sighed Nagisa.

"What am I, painted on the wall?" asked Izawa over the headsets.

"Izawa; do you want to stay here at the swim practice?" asked Nitori, "The others are about to make their move but I have to stay and teach."

"I'm saying I can help, I can't get out of here but I can send messages across dimensions, across an ocean shouldn't be a single fetch of problem," she answered, "And as for the practice, I cannot go because this is getting too farfetched with this 'Alex' problem."

Makoto eyes suddenly glowed neon green as he felt his necklace glowing a little.

"Makoto!" snapped Haruka, "Stop wasting your powers!"

But Makoto wasn't listening as he closed his eyes and muttered, "an...Orca? Dolphin? Shark? Butterfly...and...Penguin?"

"What the hell is going on now?" asked Rin.

"They're...out...waiting," answered Makoto as his eyes turned back to normal.

"Then let me help you," said Nitori as he makes a small cut and some blood dripped out, "You'll need your strength right?"

"Cook boy I can't materialize in front of you, I'll be right over... but patch that I don't need that right now okay?" answered Izawa.

"Rei?" sighed Nitori, "So much for trying to help someone's diet…"

"Gimme here," replied Rei as he taps his finger to the cut and healed it, saying, "And don't worry about her. I think she's gonna be okay as long as you're like that."

"Well then I best return to the pool and deal with the class," said Nitori as he waved and rushed through the halls, "Be careful now! I'll try to stand by if I get any signal or messages!"

The others regrouped at the outside parking lot where they planned to figure out what they were going to do next. Nagisa turned his head and saw ama-chan leaving with her car.

"There she goes...should we follow her?" asked Makoto.

"Probably, maybe it'll lead somewhere," replied the blonde.

"Nice and quiet," finished Rei.

"The car is moving though, we can only get there so much unless if we..." began Rin when his necklace suddenly glowed, "The Suiei Gods? Are they hearing our pleas?"

"It must be," said Haruka as he looked at his necklace.

"They always listen," smiled Nagisa.

Before the others could reply, the Suiei Gods used their magic to send the boys to the hills of a village. Haruka immediately realized that they were back in the old area where Haruka and Makoto used to live for many years.

"It's the village by the bay Haru…where your old house used to be!" gasped Makoto.

Haruka turned his head and saw the car that ama-chan was driving parking at the lower area of the village as the teacher got out and headed her way up the hill.

"Let's hide, quickly!" shouted Makoto.

"This way!" said Rin as he prompted the others to hurry.

"Um guyyyssss….don't you think she might know we're here already?" asked Gou.

"We can't just stand and wait and see! Come on!" snapped Rin as he grabbed her hand and they rushed through the hills.

"Kyaaa…nii-chan!" she cried out, "I can run too dammit!"

"This way!" said Haruka as they traveled through a bridge while Makoto and Nagisa held hands together.

"There!" said Rei, "By the gazebo!"

The gang sat down and chilled at the gazebo while trying to breath from the quick run. Meanwhile, Miho walked to the house at the top of the hill as she passed by an elder woman.

_Such a long day_, she thought as she entered in the house and walked to the main room. The larger room had a ton of files and folders that had various documents that she had been keeping safe along with copies of government papers and print outs.

She opened up one of the folders and saw various pictures of Alex fighting off the monstrous snake while protecting Haruka with the blood dripping out from the body. These cameras were hidden on the stage and some walls which provided clear shots of the incident.

She recalled when Kouta explained to her about the boy being the reincarnated form of the lost prince from Ancient Greece/Madeconia who conquered a lot of the known lands. Arogean spoke to the man long ago and wanted to use him in order for his ultimate plan against the Suiei Gods but it turned out that the warrior vanished from the face of the planet before anyone could find out.

"So…you finally awaken…haven't you?" she muttered, "_Young prince…_"

* * *

**_To Be Continued on Weds. December 11, 2013!_**

**_See you water next time! :)_**


	4. Chapter 3: New Allies

**_Chapter 3: 新しい同盟国！_****_New Allies!_**

"Are you guys okay?" asked Haruka.

"Yeah we're fine," answered Makoto, "But we need to go back and see; how about your old house Haru?"

"Since what are the odds that she'd be living in there?" he replied, "No one would go for that house…would they?"

"But still…we should sneak in side," suggested Rei.

"Fine," said Haruka.

Haruka led the group to his old house and snuck around to make sure that no one was actually inside. However, after going around the back they heard footsteps coming from the rooms. Sure enough, there was Miho drinking coffee and reading some papers from the files.

A small breeze struck which blew some of the papers out. She rushed to save as much as the others but the other papers soared their way out and fell onto the grass.

"What's with those papers?" asked Rin.

Nagisa chuckled and gets them while making sure that sensei was not looking. He seemed a bit horrified on what he saw so he handed it to Haruka.

"This is…" gasped Haruka, "More pictures of the incident…the car chase…and the investigation."

"So this is…coming all together?" asked Makoto.

"Mako-chan, this isn't good…" replied Nagisa.

"Can you hear us Nitori?" asked Rin through the headsets.

"Barely…but it sounds really bad," answered the other boy.

Haruka looked over at the bay and saw something strange. Without hesitation, Haruka rushed down the hills while stripping to his swimsuit form.

"Oi! HARU!" cried Makoto.

"HARU-CHAN!" shouted Nagisa.

"What is he thinking?" snapped Rin as they all followed him down the hill.

Haruka reached to the beach and swam his way through, heading out to the bay. By the time the others caught, up he was already half way through the point he saw and the others.

"Damn he's really quick," said Gou, stunned.

"You're staying here Rei?" asked Rin, "Or you plan to go?"

"I'm staying," answered the megane, "Nagisa shouldn't go either."

"I'm tempted to go in but I'm not like Haru," sighed Makoto, "But seriously; at this time of the day?"

Meanwhile Haruka swam his freestyle across the bay and finally saw something strange in the waters. He saw something moving quick right towards him. Haruka braced himself for impact but instead, the blur jumped over Haruka and splashed into the water.

"A…a dolphin?" muttered Haruka.

"It's time to give you an upgrade," echoed Suiei Nanase's voice.

"Nanase!?" gasped Haruka, "Where are you?"

"I'm out of range...but we have made some new friends with the animals here..." replied the Suiei God, "They'll help you whatever needs to get done. The other animals are on their way to the shoreline...but they can't get too close. Go fetch a boat and get out past the bay so you can meet them."

Before Haruka could ask, the Suiei God used his magic to teleport Haruka back to the sands where the others stood over him.

"Haru?" asked Makoto.

"No time to argue," he answered as he goes to an empty boat, "Come on!"

"What did you see?" asked Rin, looking a bit concerned.

"Animals…" said Haruka, "It's a bit complicated…but let's go!"

They got into the boat as Haruka set the controls to turn on. Nagisa and Rei unwind the rope and Makoto set the boat to move forward. After a few minutes of sailing out to the bay they reached out to the edge between the bay and the open ocean and saw various animals swimming around.

A dolphin jumped up and splashed into the sea while an orca takes a peak at the surface and made a cute noise that almost creped Makoto out. A shark also peaked out and snapped its jaws a few times as if it was eating something.

"My goodness," said Gou, "These animals…so cute!"

Before anyone could comment, a penguin pokes it head out and jumped into the boat and wobbled around before it stood on its feet.

"How did this penguin…" gasped Makoto.

"Oh my," giggled Nagisa as he hugged the penguin, "It's so cute!"

"The animals," said Rin, looking at the shark up close as both him and the animal showed their teeth, "It's like they're a part of us."

"So you all have animals…" said Rei, feeling a bit left out.

"Um Rei…" blushed Nagisa, "You have something on your head."

Gou laughed as she saw what Nagisa was pointing at. The penguin peeped a few cute noises as Rei was confused. Haruka chuckled to himself as Rin was trying hard not to laugh so hard. Makoto blushed at the sight.

"What do I…?" he asked when the butterfly flapped its wings and soared on top of Rei's nose.

"YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!" said the megane.

"A butterfly is sneaky and silent; unlike the other animals," said a voice from around.

The five boys gasped as they recognized that voice from a long time ago.

"Witch boy!?" shouted Rin.

"He…he's here?" asked Haruka, confused.

"Oh fuck, not you witch boy!" snapped Rei as he and the others looked over the boat and saw Watanuki through the water reflection.

Gou was a bit confused at the sight of the man before them; he wore glasses and had robes of unusual designs and colors that she never seen before. He seemed to have a pipe in his hands for smoking.

"Hey there, Watanuki-kun!" said Nagisa, "So can you explain to us what's going on here?"

"The Suiei Gods have told me about this new project with the animals...they believe that these can help you for your journey," said Watanuki, "That way, in case if you cannot get somewhere, they can deliver the messages across the oceans, seas, and even on land...

"But what about Alex-chan!?" asked Makoto, "Is he alright?!"

"Things have begun to move for that family…but you will have to pay a price if you desire to ask," replied the witch.

"Forget it then," said Haruka, "We don't have much to pay this time."

"I'll send my orcas to make sure he's alright" said Makoto.

"Yeah he'll send the orcas alright," nodded Rei.

"The same will be said for my dolphins," added Haruka.

"My sharks too," said Rin, "Can't forget them!"

"Your butterfly...Rei...it can also send messages too...it doesn't require the water...but it uses the air itself," replied Watanuki.

"I'll send a legion of butterflies... that doesn't even sound threatening but it might work," answered Rei.

"We got this!" agreed Rin, "Alex and his family will be safe!"

"Yeah!" nodded Nagisa.

"Peeeep! Peeeep!" chanted the Penguin.

"Does he…by any chance have an animal yet?" asked Haurka.

"Not yet," answered the witch, "He's undergoing training still but he'll get one eventually."

"I wonder what he'll have," muttered Rin.

"Something that's different than what I have," sighed Rei.

"Well then," said the witch as he vanished from the view, "I wish you all good luck."

The animals somehow understood the language of humans so Rei, Rin, Makoto, and Haruka sent their animals to spread the news and get to the states somehow and keep an eye on things. As for the penguin, it decided to stay with Nagisa for some odd reason.

When they got the boat to shore, they decided to go to Nagisa's house since it was the next closest area in the village. The blonde led the gang and they entered inside.

"Well this is my place, welcome," smiled the blonde.

"Oh wow, it's nice and cozy," said Makoto.

"At least it's far away from ama-chan," nodded Haruka as he closed his eyes and hoped for Alex and his family to be okay.

"Ahhhh, Nagisa your penguin is so cute," giggled Gou as the penguin peeped a little cute noise.

"Can I have him back Gou?" asked Nagisa.

"I'm Kou…so I don't know who this Gou you're asking about," she answered.

Nagisa sighed while the others had a moment of sweat drops. Rin walked to the window and said, "At least you can see the bay from here. It's really nice."

"Yeah, it is," smiled the blonde.

"We'll rest here for now," said Haruka.

"Right," nodded Makoto.

They stayed up for a bit as they hung out and wondered what was happening to their friend. There was a lot that has happened ever since the foreign boy came to this country and even afterwards things were still busy.

"I can't wait for graduation," sighed Nagisa, "No more worries from high school."

"Yeah but college is a whole new challenge," said Haruka.

"Perhaps but at least we can all be adults finally," smirked the blonde as he stared at Makoto with those eyes of a seme.

Makoto blushed and looked to the side as the blonde giggled to himself. The penguin wobbled around and found a corner to rest for a bit.

**Back in the States…**

The Marotta Family arrived in Arizona and settled in at the grandparent's house. (It was really Alex's father's parents that lived here while the mother's parents lived back in Ohio until the grandfather passed away a few years back)

However, Alex was concerned on what would happen to his house back in Santa Monica.

"Is something wrong brother?" asked Sergi.

Alex shook his head and answered, "No it's fine. Please don't worry too much."

"Brother," replied Sergi, "I don't want whatever is bothering you to hurt you anymore."

"It…it's just a lot of what's going on in my mind, that's all," said Alex.

Alex walked to the guest bedroom and plopped himself on the bed, closing his eyes for a little while. Suiei Marotta soared outside to make sure things were cleared from any suspicion for the Haus of the Heavens were on their way.

_It's all in a matter of time_, thought the Suiei God.

* * *

Back in Santa Monica, three suited men arrived at the house and broke inside, keeping their guns at the ready when they realized that the family was not here. They each wore headsets where they were reporting the data to Kouta.

"Nothing…" hissed the first man.

"This house is just as empty…" sighed the second, "Can we just burn it down?"

"There's nothing worth it," replied the third, "Just leave it; we may have the wrong address."

"But this has to be it," snapped the second man, "Didn't you see the cliff side? There's proof that some magic was used there!"

"They escaped," said Kouta through the speakers, "They have left for Phoenix Arizona…go find them and do not fail me!"

"Let's go then," said the first suited man as he and the others left and headed out into town, preparing to make their next move.

* * *

**Iwatobi, Japan**

Haruka finally closed his eyes and rested as he sat against the wall and rested his mind. However, he woke up in a pool along with Alex as he was consuming their passion together. The foreign boy smiled and hugged around him as they flirted happily.

Suddenly the image dissolved around before his eyes as he saw Alex and another boy pinned down on a table, chained up.

"Wh…what the hell!" gasped Haruka as he tried to use his magic, "Leave them alone!"

Before his eyes the two boys dissolved into blood and guts as Haruka heard evil laughter coming from ahead as a gigantic figure in a cloak hovered over the bloody mess.

Haruka screamed…

* * *

Haruka woke up with a gasp, coughing and choking…he somehow recognized that place back in the Time Loop but it also looked different at the same time.

"That lab…" he muttered, "It's just like the Swim-Cadet X!"

Before he could try to figure out, the door slid open as Rei stepped in, "Haruka?"

"R-Rei?" asked Haruka as the megane walked in and went on his knees to look at him, "You heard me?"

"Yes, what's the matter?" asked the magane.

"It's him…Alex….and…there was a second person with him…was it his brother? I think it was," muttered Haruka, "They…they were in that same place I was…or something similar….the lab…"

"Haruka, you have to calm down," said Rei, "They'll be alright, you'll see."

"It's not about the present…it was like…the future," replied Haruka.

"Haru, please look at me," answered Rei as the other boy turned to look at his face. The megane cupped his face with his hands, saying, "We'll avoid that…"

Haruka blushed a little but nodded.

"It won't end like that so please rest. You need to sleep in order to fight, okay?" asked Rei.

"Yes," said Haruka as he lowered his head a little, "Thank you."

Rei smiled as Haruka got back to his rest while he got up and left the room. Haruka realized that he felt a bit of some moisture in his pajamas when part of the dream was passionate and loving.

* * *

By next morning, Makoto woke up and saw Nagisa already staring out at the window as the sunrise was glowing the skies in warm colors.

"Well that was a nice sleep," smiled Makoto as he stretched a little.

"Morning," said Nagisa.

"Did you sleep well?" asked Makoto.

"Yep!" smiled the blonde.

The penguin emerged from under the sheets and made more peeping sounds while wobbling over to Nagisa.

"I thought he joined with the others?" asked Makoto.

"He doesn't like the Pacific Ocean…but I'm not even sure how he's handling the weather here," replied Nagisa.

"Maybe your Suiei gave him some adaptive abilities to handle the weather up here," suggested Makoto.

"Most likely," agreed the blonde, "He's cute though…oh! We should name him! He can be our kid!"

"NEEEH!?" gasped Makoto as he was a bit freaked out by it at first.

"It'll be fun," smiled Nagisa, "Don't worry."

Makoto closed his eyes and tried to think of a name…there was too many to pick from and he wanted something that would be cute and simple. Finally he had one in his mind…

"Well then," said Makoto, "How about Sai?"

The penguin jumped happily and cried out, "PEEEEP! PEEEEEP!"

"He seems to like it," answered Nagisa, "Alrighty then, you're Sai from now on."

"Well that's good," agreed Makoto, "Let's get some breakfast started, I'll help you cook."

"Yeah!" said Nagisa, "I could use a few extra hands."

* * *

**Phoenix, AZ, USA**

Back in the states, the Haus of the Heavens continued their search for Alex and his family as they were beginning to pinpoint the location down in Phoenix, Arizona.

Meanwhile, Alex was jogging around the blocks early in the morning before sunrise and the heat was already rising up slowly, prompting him to sweat.

_Damn_, he thought, _it's like not even sunrise and I can feel the heat beginning to get here…_

He continued to jog a little bit more before he found himself sitting on a bench at a park nearby from his grandparent's house. The design here in the city had like all of various resident homes and every corner almost had a park of some kind; from playgrounds to golf to even pools.

He looked up at the mountains that dominated far beyond the city and noticed that the skies in the east were about to glow pretty soon.

Alex got up again but turned to see a strange cloud in the skies. It was moving quite rapidly and was descending down towards him. He was about to run off and freak out when his necklace glowed and Suiei Marotta stood by his side.

"At last…" muttered the Suiei, "They made it."

"What is this?" asked Alex, annoyed.

"Hush now child," replied the god, "you don't want to get caught by our enemies…"

"I want to know the truth," answered the human, "Who are they? What do they want?"

"Back at Iwatobi...during your fight...against that snake...and when it bit you on the arm, you had enough blood to show evidence that you were becoming one of us," replied Suiei Marotta, "And one of them…that one teacher that you had suspicion about her…Miho Amakata…she works for them."

Alex gasped as he growled, "I knew it! I had a feeling something was off about her! But she seemed too nice to even…"

"Well for sure, never judge a book by its cover," answered Suiei Marotta.

The cloud revealed to be a mass swarm of butterflies as they soared across the skies while several of them gathered around the two. Suiei Marotta's eyes glowed as he chanted some sort of a spell of some kind.

_Rin...Rei...Haruka...Nagisa...Kou...Makoto...Mikoshiba...Nitori...everyone_, thought Alex as he prayed that they were all alright.

The other remaining butterflies attached themselves to the house as a glowing light of energy covered the family house, causing their location to be invisible to the outsiders while those who knew the family could only see it. Once the light disappeared, the butterflies detached themselves and soared back to the skies; their work was done for now as this "seal" will protect the house for at least a month or so.

However, Alex could feel the dehydration happening as he didn't get the chance to drink enough water. His body ached and he lost balance, falling to the ground.

"Oi!" said Suiei Marotta, "Young Prince!? Young Prince!"

_Crap_, thought the Suiei, _I have to get him back safely._

He scooped the boy and soared to the house as he placed him in bed and used a part of his magic to heal the boy before departing. It was time for him to start learning some magic on his own but he told the other gods that he will be watching the boy from afar.

"I will be with him still," said Marotta, staring at the pond with the reflection of the other gods "But once he is ready, I will join up with you guys."

"Understood," replied Nanase.

"We got you," answered Matsuoka.

"How are the others?" asked Marotta.

"The guys are doing alright; graduation is near," said Tachibana, "For Nagisa, Rei, Kou, and Nitori that is…"

"I see," answered Suiei Marotta, "I guess this is it for now…until we can meet again."

* * *

**Time Skip: 1 Month Later…**

"It's been…a WHOLE MONTH!?" growled Izawa as she raged around, freaking out on how fast the time went.

She couldn't believe it; she was here much longer than Serah was and she had some difficulty in finding "food" to feed on despite being served breakfast, lunch, and dinner from Nitori (or cook boy in her terms). However, she has grown to watch the gang from afar for the last few weeks as they prepared to celebrate Nagia's, Rei's, Gou's, and Nitori's Graduation from High School.

And finally, it was here!

"Well look who decided to pop around," said Nagisa, as he saw the girl raging around in annoyance, "We've GRADUATED!"

"YAY!" cheered Gou, "It's so great to be finished finally!"

"That means we got more time for the matter at hand," nodded Rei.

Sai, the little penguin replied with cute peeping noises and wobbled around in circles with Nagisa.

"Well I guess we're all adults now," said Haruka.

"Congratulations you guys," smiled Mikoshiba as he clapped his hands to them.

"Yeah congrats!" replied Nitori and Gou to Rei and Nagisa.

"Hey I think a congrats is in order for you two as well!" smiled Rei.

"Yeah Gou-chan, Ni-chan!" cheered Nagisa.

Nitori blushed as he turned to see Izawa pouting a little but also blushed as she replied, "Uh, cook boy…um…congrats on whatever you got out of…"

"Thanks," smiled Nitori, "It's hard to believe that we're finally all here now."

"I, uh, anyway…I'm off somewhere, so, uh, bye," replied Izawa as she began to dart off.

"Oh boy," sighed Nagisa, "So what are we going to do now?"

But Nitori rushed off after Izawa as he cried out, "WAIT! Izawa!

Izawa turned back as she saw Nitori and the others as she replied, "What?"

"Well we don't want you to run off," said Nitori, "It's a fun time now."

"We welcome you to stay and party with us," agreed Rin, smiling a little.

Makoto and Nagisa went to the iPod mixer and put out some party music as Party Rock Anthem was the first on track.

"Let's dance!" said Nagisa as he tried to sing, "Party Rock is in the house tonight…"

"Humph," replied Izawa, "You guys are all just like her."

She watched as they all began to take the dance floor but she smiled to herself, knowing that they'll be alright.

_What was going on in that month_, thought Haruka, _with Alex? Is he alright?_

"Is something wrong Haru?" asked Rin.

"Oh no, it's nothing," replied Haruka.

"Have no fear Haruka, you know it'll be alright. Who knows...he may be back sooner than you think," said Mikoshiba.

"Yeah! Let's party rock!" laughed Nitori.

"C'mon Sai, let's dance!" smiled the blonde as Makoto and Sai danced around together. Gou went off dancing like a crazy teen girl surrounded by boys as she was enjoying this party.

Haruka began to party around as well while Rei sat down and said, "I am soooo not standing up from this couch."

"Oh come on Rei," laughed Rin as he grabbed Rei's hand and the two were already on the dance floor.

"Darn it, Rin!" replied Rei as he also laughed and goes around.

"So then, Nito-chan, you're going after Izawa…or staying to dance?" asked Mikoshiba.

"Well where did she go this time?" sighed Nitori.

"Well she just went out a bit ago," answered Nagisa.

"I'll find her," he replied.

Nitori rushed outside to find her while Nagisa was getting a little curious about Nitori's behavior; he remembered how Ni-chan would bother Rin 24/7 a few years ago but after Rin went out to college, something had changed…and then of course Nagisa somehow sensed a relationship between Nitori and Miko-kun but now…

"Oi, Miko…aren't you…um…jealous?" asked Nagisa.

"Meh, I don't know…it's kinda interesting to see Nitori going through a few things," he answered.

He turned to see Gou dancing and having fun but he decided to take a step in to her.

"So then, Gou, you want to dance?" he asked, "Oh crap, I meant Kou! I'm sorry…"

"Sure," she replied as she stepped up to him, "Let's go Mikoshiba-kun!"

He gently took her hand as they began to take some steps around. Rin kinda grew a bit suspicious about the two but he was too distracted by Rei.

"You dance really nice Kou," said Mikoshiba.

"Oh, why thanks you," she smiled, as she blushed a little, "You're not half bad yourself…"

"Oh um…well I'm not much into dancing…but I tried a little," he blushed back.

"Oh? Well you did just perfect!" she chuckled as they continued to have fun.

"This is almost like how we first met…remember?" asked Mikoshiba, "You came to the academy and we both looked at each other…even though we weren't dancing…"

"You and I remembered now we met very differently," said Gou.

"Oh?" blushed Mikoshiba, "Is that a bad thing?"

"Nah" she smiled, as they continued to dance happily. After a couple of minutes, they both paused and looked at each other in the eyes.

"You're really beautiful Gou…or I mean, Kou!" said Mikoshiba, feeling a bit clumsy as he confused, "I…I really like your real name…"

"Oh geez," she replied, as she whispered, "It's fine…you can call me Gou; just don't let Nagisa find out I'm okay with it, alright?"

"Sure," he nodded as he could feel his heart beating fast.

"What's the matter?" she asked.

"I…I hope you can forgive me…" he said as he moved in to her face, giving her a kiss.

Gou blushed heavily as she instantly forgot how to kiss after she learned from Serah but she regained her posture and embraced it for a few seconds before they took a breath.

"I…I'm sorry you didn't expect that," he answered.

"I…I-um, Miko-kun," she said as she gives him a small kiss on the lips as she stood on her toes.

The two were blushing but they chuckled a little. Finally Mikoshiba asked, "So you want something to drink? Or you want to continue dancing?"

"I think a drink sounds good," she smiled.

Mikoshiba held her hand as they both walked to the table. Gou was already blushing with the soft feeling of his grip yet it was strong.

_He's really amazing_, she thought, _I hope Rin doesn't get too annoyed by this…but I think that he'll be alright as long as he and Rei are together._

* * *

**Back Outside…**

"She can't be that far," muttered Nitori as he sighed, "Where is she? I wish I could make her happy…"

He fell to his knees as he felt a bit exhausted from the search; feeling a bit saddened by this. Izawa smelled him nearby as she got down from the tree to find him.

"Hey um, cook boy?" she asked.

Nitori turned to see her and got up.

"What's wrong? Lost your way to the supermarket?" asked the girl.

A gentle breeze flowed between the two of them as Nitori answered, "I…I was looking for you; why didn't you stay?"

"Why on earth would I stay?" she replied.

Nitori blushed as he answered, "Well, I thought maybe you would enjoy it…but wait a sec. Didn't you said that you were searching for these…'vamp bars'?"

"Yeah," she said, "But those are like fancy with special people lounging there…you grab a human, drink and act fancy and classy."

"Well then," he replied, "How did you ended up here in our world? Were you assigned to do something like Serah had?"

"Yeah pretty much," she nodded, "We sort of like traded places…"

"After thinking about it for a while; your health is different than hears; she was more…like human?" he asked, "While you rely on the blood…"

"Serah hasn't had the need for that ever since her boyfriend turned her back to normal; but she was really scary," she answered.

"Wait! You mean that she was like you?" he asked.

"For a while she was," said Izawa, "And accident happened and she ended up killing her exes and fiancée."

"I don't know what you have to do in this world," he said, "But if there's anything I can do; I'll do it as long as I don't die!"

"I want nothing," she answered, as she turned her back, "I think I made that clear. Now, if you're not lost I'm going back to my tree…"

Nitori rushed up and grabbed her hand as she turned around, snapping, "What are you even doing!?"

The boy's eyes were wet with tears as he felt useless…he wanted to see her smile genuinely but how?

"Goddess dammit Nitotri! Stop crying!" she said, realizing that she finally said his name.

"Serah told me that there was this goddess named Destiny…what did she told you? What is it that you came here?" he asked.

"I'm grounded okay?!" she snapped, "I fucked up something and Serah said it would be a great idea to send me here!"

Nitori withdrew his hand as he wiped some of the tears away while looking down, "I…I'm sorry."

Izawa calmed her senses and replied, "No…I should be the one to apologize…I..I didn't mean to yell like this."

Nitori decided to change the subject and said, "I have made some food for the party. Could you at least try some? If you don't want to come in, that's fine. But wait outside, okay?"

"Yeah, I'll stay outside and wait," she agreed as he took off back to the house.

About a couple of minutes later, Nitori brought back some sushi, miso soup and rice on a tray, saying, "Here; I made a few other snacks here but I hope you love it."

He handed the tray to Izawa as her eyes sparkled in excitement, "Wow…that looks amazing!"

She enjoyed the meal as they both sat down on the grass, enjoying the gentle breeze as the sun was slowly heading down for the evening. Once she was done, she handed the tray back to Nitori.

"Thanks cook boy! I could never really thank you enough…for everything!" she smiled, "Anyway, I'm sorry I've been stalking you all this time and disappearing a lot also."

"I'm sorry I couldn't spend much time…the last several days of school were crazy...not to mention graduation. However, I'm happy to see that you're okay," replied Nitori, "I guess we're both even…"

Izawa blushed as she replied, "I-If you ever say I said sorry to anyone, I'll cut your throat open and drink you dry! I mean it!"

Nitori blushed as he lowered his head, "I…I understand."

"Y-you do?" she asked, raising an eyebrow, "You're not scared or anything?"

"Oh I do get scared…I'm not scared of you though…I'm more scared for myself…if anything," he answered.

"Oh...then ummm... I guess I'll go back to my tree..." she muttered as she turned her head to make sure no one was nearby. She quickly turned to give a kiss on Nitori's cheek and said, "Thanks."

Nitori felt love dazed for a few moments as he was happy to see her smiling and joyful once more. HE wasn't sure what exactly happened in the month that she was other than she was appearing and disappearing. However, this moment was different and he was thankful for it.

He walked back inside with the tray and placed it in the sink while pouring himself a drink.

"You did okay, Nito-kun?" asked Mikoshiba.

"She's been fed and happy; she'll be alright now," smiled Nitori.

Sai peeped happily as Nitori watched the others dancing with joy; it was quite a time that was spent.

* * *

**Haus of the Heavens, Tokyo**

Kouta stared out at the window and reflected on what has been happening. He sent his guards to go find the houses in Santa Monica and Phoenix but the men only found the one in Santa Monica. As for the other in Phoenix, it was somehow not appearing on the map or the GPS or anything that he looked upon.

"It's been a month now," he muttered, "And you haven't found him!?"

"We had no trace or anything," said one of the guards.

"He may have further escaped with the family," replied another guard.

"I suppose that his origin that was back in Mayfield…his original story," replied the governor, "The place of his beginnings.

"Summer is here boys," he said, "Despite how slow we may operate normally in the past...this is not the time to relax. I'd normally kill you three on the spot with my magic...but what good would it do? So instead, I have made different arrangements."

"Such as?" asked the first guard.

"I sent my cousin to find them…her kindness and innocence will fool the family for her as a friend," he answered, "She lure them all…to a trap; it is said that you kill with kindness to get your wish."

"Is it really….her?" asked the other guard.

Kouta nodded as he explained, "The Amakata Clan has made sure that magic of the Haus and the covenant is maintained... and in the background...the Kenta Clan...makes sure that the wishes of this place...is set out…in turn, the two sides created the Haus of the Heavens."

He turned to see the family photos and continued, "She wanted to work here...well, not exactly here...but she wanted to work in a real business...but she was denied…she ended up with a business as a model for bathing suits before becoming a teacher after I prepared her license and everything. She never realized that her family was part of the Haus... until after the Time Loop was shattered."

The other guys remained silent as the governor continued, "But unlike Arogean's SCX, Deception MIA, and the Dark Code…I know exactly where they originated from…and that knowledge will be the key to defeat them."

"What you will do with the gods' powers?" asked one of the guards.

"I will use it...to create...a censorship...so powerful...that no one...not even the Suiei Gods...can get their voices heard," answered the governor, "And while that happens, we'll kill them off...so the legend can close its pages."

"But what about the sixth god?" asked one of the guards.

"Oh he'll be killed off just like them...along with the one most dear to him...after we make them go through the experiment," said Kouta.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ama-chan arrived in Phoenix as she begins to search for the boy and the family; given by the some magic from Kouta; she could not fail this mission. She was already assigned to a room at a nearby hotel thanks to the arrangements she had as she looked at the GPS and began to prepare her next move.

_Too bad he was a cute boy in class_, she thought, _Now he'll pay for the damage…_


	5. Chapter 4: Journey to the States Pt 1

**_Chapter 4: _**_アメリカ合衆国への旅 __- 第__1部：砂漠の街_  
**_Journey to the States – Part 1: The City of the Desert_**

* * *

**Next Day: After the Grad Party**

The gang was pooped out as several of them rested on the couch while others slept in the rooms. Many of them were up till around 2 in the morning or so while some went to bed earlier.

Haruka, Rei and Rin were on the couch sleeping while Nagisa and Makoto were in a different room while Gou slept back in the guest bedroom while Nitori and Mikoshiba slept together.

Haruka slowly opened his eyes as he saw his necklace glowing, he got up and tried to shook Rin up just as his Suiei necklace also glowed.

"Is something wrong?" yawned Rin as he stretched a little.

"Oi! Rei!" said Haruka, "Can you check the computers?"

Rei's eyes snapped open as he breathed a little bit rapidly as he said, "Yeah…what a night that was. What did you say Haru?"

"Can you check up on the computers or something?" asked Haruka.

"On it," he answered as he yawned and walked over to the other room.

Nagisa and Makoto walked into the room while the blonde asked, "What's going on?"

Makoto yawned a little as he saw Nagisa's necklace glowing as well while his own flickered briefly. Gou walked in moments later to see the commotion.

"What the hell is going on?" asked Nitori as he walked in the room and saw the lights glowing.

"It has to be Alex-chan, isn't it…that's why they're glowing…" said Makoto, "I'm worried he's in deep trouble or something."

Haruka walked over as he carefully listened to Suiei Nanase's instructions. He stood in the center of the room and closed his eyes while extending his arms out.

"What are you doing, Haru?" asked Rin.

"I'm trying to see if I can see through his eyes…" said Haruka, closing his eyes, "Nanase wanted me to do this."

"But how the hell can you do such a thing like that?" asked Rin, "That power isn't even…"

"That's beyond our normal limits Haru," sighed Makoto.

"Could you just be QUIET?!" snapped Haruka.

"He did say he was going to try and figure out something," whispered Nagisa to Makoto.

Haruka concentrated on his senses as he opened his eyes and saw himself standing in the deserts that led to a megacity down in the hot valley of Phoenix. He saw flashes of the city's landscape but what stunned him was…

"NO!" he gasped, "She…she's can't be…"

"What's the matter?" asked Makoto, nervous on the answer.

"What did you see?" gasped Gou.

"Haruka?!" said Rin, worried.

Mikoshiba walked in and watched to see the strange things going on around them as he saw flashes of light circling around Haruka during his visions. He turned to Nitori who was trying to see what was happening while cooking breakfast.

"Ama-chan is in town…she's looking for him!" answered Haruka.

"No way!" gasped Nagisa.

"Already she's down there?" asked Gou, shocked.

"The Haus of the Heavens is making a move…and they're going to make sure they see it to the end," said Haruka, "We have to act and make our move."

"Yo guys!" called Rei from the other room, "I'm on the net! Should I look for something specific?"

The gang rushed into the room where Rei was about to hack into some websites.

"Go and see if you can access the Haus of the Heavens," said Haruka.

Rei quickly tapped the keys and after a few seconds, he was in, "I got them! Hacking to their page inside the system…capture complete! Have fun and tell me if they noticed I got in."

"Makoto," said Haruka, "Go secure our line on your phone and send it to Rei."

"I'll try," he answered as he took out his phone and tapped rapidly on the keys.

Haruka, Nagisa, and Gou went to the screen to read what was on the page.

"Suiei Gods…" read Gou, "The Ancient Past…Greece…"

"Project X103: The Miraculous Cure of Magic…Blood Samples: A young, foreign boy from the states…Test Results, Positive," continued Nagisa.

"The future candidate of the Suiei Gods," read Haruka, "Alexander the Great of Macedonia…"

"Wait! What's that?" asked Rei as he pointed to the bill down below.

"The Ordinance Bill of Protection Act," said Haruka as he scrolled down and gasped on the name, "Kouta!?"

"Did you say, Kouta…the guy who was dressed up in that samurai outfit?" asked Rin while standing by the room.

Makoto kept silent on the answer as he and the others recalled that giant man who slaughtered various people back in the Time Loop and was a trusted bodyguard to Arogean.

"Bill passed in November…effective in January," said Haruka.

"That's just…insane" sighed Nagisa.

Sai peeped angrily and wobbled around rapidly in annoyance from what he was hearing. The other animals had to hear this news.

"There's more," said Gou as she read, "The Amakata Clan was created to be sure that the covenant and the projects went on as planned. They were known to be large family members that passed down for many generations..."

"The Kenta Clan on the other hand," read Haruka, "they were a small group of members but they were tasked to fulfill the wishes of the place by using the magic that the Haus provided... together, these two families created the Haus of the Heavens."

"I can't believe this," said Makoto, "Why did our ama-chan become so…political?"

"Apparently there's still more information," replied Nagisa as he read the text, "Kouta, the leader used his magic from an unknown resource from an affiliated group to put the spell on the world by locating the candidate who would become the next god."

"So they knew?" muttered Rei, "That's a bit far off."

"Not exactly," sighed Haruka, "They had to have known from that unknown resource…but from what it appears…they had to have made a random guess or something to put the spell on Alex…"

"The Time Loop," said Nagisa, "Kouta or…dare I say, Arogean must have known Alex when he was the prince of his time and…"

"Now that you said that," replied Rei, "He did mention that…he remembered that he lost his warriors to Arogean during one of his long-ago battles."

"Okay," answered Rin, "This is like even more fucked up than the time loop…"

"But does it say anything about where they'll perform their evil deed?" asked Rei, "This is all useless if it can't help us save Alex-chan-san."

The gang was silent for a moment while Haruka continue to read on the screen; there' he recognized the words that shook him to the core…knowing how sacred that place was…

"The, the temple!" said Haruka, "They're seeking the temple to access the magic!"

"Then we should head down there and take them out," replied Rei.

"But that sounds a bit too reckless Rei," said Gou.

"Well they still haven't found him yet…don't you remember what the gods said?" asked Haruka, "No one can access that place unless if one of is there. They'll most likely capture him and take him there and he'll be forced to lead them inside."

"By using him as bait," nodded Nagisa, "We have to get him, Haru…before they do!"

"Get us out now Rei," said Haruka, "We got enough now to worry about."

"Right, off the page…and done!" answered the megane as he shut down the internet and the computer.

"So then…what are we going to do now?" asked Gou.

"We have to believe in him…just like the last time," said Mikoshiba as he held Nitori's hand and Gou's hand.

"A chain?" asked Nitori, blushing a little as he connected his hand to Nagisa's.

"Yeah, let's see if we can find out what he's up to," agreed Nagisa, "Don't you guys think?"

"I suppose it's worth a try," said Rin as he held hands with Haruka and Rei.

They formed a circle as the five necklaces glowed once more, sending out a wave of power between them…

* * *

**Back in the States:**

Miho knocked on the door that held the Marotta Family. The grandmother opened the door and said in her Italian accent, "Hi, uh…who are you?"

"Oh I'm sorry to disturb you but I'm a teacher of your grandson…is he around right now?" asked Miho.

"From Mayfield…right?" asked the grandmother.

"Yes that's correct," she smiled, trying to hide her nervousness.

"S-Sandro? Well…he, uh- went out with his brother, they're both going downtown for a few hours, do you need him?" asked the elder woman.

"I can just call him; he left me his number a while ago," she answered.

"You want something to eat?" asked the grandma.

Miho shook her head and said, "Oh no thank you. I'll be going now."

_Just what I needed_, she thought, _I hope Kouta can hear this out. She took out her headset and reported her findings to Kouta._

"I see," he replied, "Well it's no surprise that he left…but he'll be easy to find now that he's alone with his brother."

"Right," she answered as she walked back to the main road and took out a stick that had dark magic built in from Kouta.

"Be careful when using that," he said, "It may cause a disturbance and suspicion."

Back in the house, grandma Armeta walked back to the kitchen where her daughter-in-law, Alex's mother asked, "What was that all about?"

"Oh um…lei e' una professoressa dal liceo in Mayfield," she answered in Italian.  
(English: She is a teacher from the highs school in Mayfield).

"I see, did she move out here as well?" asked Alex's mother.

"I didn't ask her that," she replied.

"Mom," said Alex's father, "How long did the boys tell you they'd be out for?"

"They said they would return about 6 PM," she answered as she turned on the stove to cook some soup.

* * *

**Downtown Phoenix, AZ**

"This way!" said Alex as he rushed across the town with his brother.

"Where the hell are you taking me?" asked the younger brother, "Why can't you go by yourself?"

"Because I could use someone who can at least be on my side for my favorite Otaku things," he blushed.

"You're so crazy," said Sergi, "But at least you're enjoying life now…promise me to teach me the weight lifting, okay?"

"Yeah," smiled Alex as they both stopped at a street light.

His necklace suddenly glowed as he shielded his eyes, "What?! What's happening!?"

"Brother! What's the matter?" asked Sergi.

Before they could react, Suiei Marotta appeared before them, saying, "Danger is near…you both must hide!"

"Wh-whaaaat?" asked Sergi.

Alex grabbed his brother's hand and said, "We have no time, let's keep moving!"

"Brother, please don't embarrass me like that," replied the younger brother as he broke the chain.

"I'm not going to lose you again, dammit!" growled Alex as he grabbed him by the wrist as they ran. Suiei Marotta followed right behind them, making sure they would reach to the destination safely.

Alex's phone vibrated as he saw an unknown caller, trying to reach him. Deciding not to answer it, he rejected the call and looked up the Terran Nost's number in California, calling Leon.

The headmaster opened his phone and asked, "Hello?"

"Oi, Leon!" said Alex, "It's me, Alex."

"Ah, I thought I'd never hear from you again," laughed Leon, "How was your time in Japan? Did you get much accomplished?"

"I don't have time to explain it," replied the boy, "Listen; I am with my brother and we're looking for a place to hide; do you have anyone in Phoenix or something?"

"Hm…I'll go check; I have to make sure they're not on a schedule break," he answered as he looked at the day planner.

"Brother slow down!" cried Sergi and he dragged him to the side before he bumped into anyone, "You have to chill!"

"Ah-ha!" said Leon on the other line, "You both are very close by…go to the small coffee shop ahead and you'll find a set of stairs; to enter, you must tell them the password which is FireBird13 and if they need more authentication, tell them you know me."

"Alrighty, thanks," he answered as he shut the phone, "Come one, let's go!"

"Brother, where are we going?" asked Sergi as the other brother found the coffee shop and climbed up the stairs.

"Wait!" cried out the younger brother, "What are you doing!?"

By the time the two got to the top, Alex knocked on the door and was prepared to face the consequences as a little shaft opened and a man called out, "Password?"

"FireBird13," said Alex.

"May we ask your connections?" asked the man.

"Leon…" said the boy.

"Ah…" replied the other man through the door as he opened up the entrance and the two walked in.

A tall woman stood before them as she just hung up the phone from Leon who told them about the arrival of two boys and she recognized that this was exactly in the description.

"Welcome to the Terran Nost of Phoenix," said the lady, "My name is Lizia and I hold the Arizona Division here in Downtown Phoenix."

The man who guarded the gate walked up to Lizia and said, "I am Greg here; one of the computer geniuses with Carol and Emily."

"Welcome boys," smiled Carol.

"Hi guys," said Emily.

"Based on the reports from Leon; he has told me that you met him before…Alex, right?" asked Lizia, "Back in Santa Monica…"

"That's right," said Alex.

"I see you have gone through a lot," replied Lizia, "You have went on a journey to Japan…and discovered many interesting things. But have no fear; it's a code that we keep all materials and information private until further notice."

"Brother, I want to go home," said Sergi, slightly annoyed by this mess.

"It appears that you didn't tell him, did you?" asked Lizia.

"It's…complicated," sighed Alex.

"After that miracle you preformed...Japan has tried to censor it...but they are looking for you...the Haus of the Heavens is after you and your friends," explained the lady, "But they're looking at you and your brother more than the other guys. It is our duty that all material is kept secret...however, we will use what we find to help you fulfill your mission. How about a phone call to them, would you like that?"

"H-Haru-ka?" asked Alex, "But he wouldn't like what is going on…would he? And what about the others? I don't think they even know about your existence at all. I never said anything about you to them!"

"We…had a chat, with someone…a while back," said Greg, "And he also spoke to Leon as well…he did his very best to take care of you while you were in Japan…"

"Who?" asked Alex.

"Rei Ryugazaki," answered Lizia.

Alex's eyes widened in shocked as he realized that the megane must have done some investigation to do all of this…but…why? E_ven after he hurt Rei's connection with Haruka…__**did he still have a heart at the least?**_

* * *

**Flashback 1: Book 1 –Hidden Illusions – While Alex was in Japan…**

While Alex was taking his rest at Rei's house, the megane sat in front of the computer, wondering about how Alex found out the legend. Even though he could feel that he wasn't a dangerous threat to him or the others, he had to make sure that things were in control before he could make a move.

"Just who is this guy…" muttered Rei when the screen suddenly flicked, "Oh…and what do we have here?"

Rei had been surfing through the network researching on Alex and things tied to him out of curiosity. Things were going amiss and he didn't feel like staying misinformed of it. He spent his time going through the firewalls and avoiding security and after a few hours of fruitless search he finally bumped into some interesting thing.

"Well what's this?" he asked to himself.

He looked over the files on his screen and smiles to himself as he realizes a few things.

"Ah…so these guys have been nosing around our legend too... interesting... so Alex got to us thanks to them... now... who are these guys exactly…?" he muttered.

He kept looking and poking around the organization's sites and networks until he finally met up with a problem. It was time to perform a cyber-fight.

"And here I thought that this was well protected; let's see what you guys got!" he smirked.

A cyber fight unchained and in the end, Rei managed to keep things to himself and the attacker managed to keep the site intact. He discovered a phone number that led to the organization so he quickly memorized before it disappeared from view.

Finally, as things settled down Rei dialed a number, one he had obtained amidst the fight and got in contact with his attacker.

"Well hello! You're from Terran Nost right? We need to have a small talk..." he began.

* * *

**Flashback 2: During the One Month Period**

With a new trouble to worry about, a crazy girl to be more precise, and Alex returning to the States, Rei couldn't help but feel he needed to do something important. He opened his phone and went through his numbers as if trying to figure out who could tell him what to do.

"I can barely stay awake these days... dammit Ryugazaki, what is Suiei Hazuki doing?" he growled to himself.

Rei blinked twice as he came upon the Terran Nost's phone number. He thought for a second before he decided it'd be a good idea. He dialed the number and then went on to wait for the other side to pick up.

"Hello, is this Leon?" asked Rei.

"Yes it is," replied the headmaster, "I see that you are one of them, yes?"

"I am…I need to tell you guys a few things and I need to ask for a favor..." said Rei.

* * *

**Present Time:**

Alex fell to his knees as he realized that he owed Rei a lot more than he could give…after all, he wasn't sure on how he was going to talk to the megane the next time they would meet again.

_This whole time_, thought Alex, _Rei…I feel bad for what he had to go through…and what I did…_

"He did his best to protect you," said Lizia.

"We'll make sure that both are you are safe here," added Greg.

"But I wanna go home!" whined Sergi, "Our family is going to panic!"

"Brother, it's fine," said Alex, "We'll be back when it's safe to return."

"HOW CAN YOU SAY SUCH A THING?!" he cried out.

Before Sergi could continue his rant, Alex got up and grabbed him by the collar, snapping, "YOU have to trust me! I cannot lose you again, dammit! I've done ALL what I can to get you back to normal!"

"…b-brother, I…I'm sorry," replied Sergi as his eyes were filled with tears.

"No," said Alex, "I'm the one that should apologize…I dragged myself to the world of unknowing…and I took us all in it."

"So then," said Lizia, "Do you still want to give them a call?"

"…I will," nodded Alex.

Lizia turned to Greg, "You know what to do."

"Yep," he said as he typed on the keyboard at amazing speed.

"The phone bill will be on us; you don't have to worry about that," nodded LIzia.

Greg did a cyber-chase for a few moments until he finally picked up on the phone-list in Japan and found a particular phone number that Alex needed. He wrote it down on a piece of paper and handed it over.

Lizia took out her phone over Alex, saying, "Use this; that way, the Haus won't find you."

Alex took the phone as he looked at the note and dialed the number, his heart was beating quite rapidly in worries that the connection may be weak.

* * *

**Back in Japan**

The gang stood in a circle as they held hands tightly, praying that their friend would be alright. Suddenly the phone rang on Haruka's cell as they opened their eyes.

"T-the phone?" asked Nagisa.

"Stop the chain!" said Haruka as he let go of the hands and walked over to pick up his cell.

"I wonder who it is...?" asked Gou.

Haruka looked at the number and realized that it was foreign of some kind…he wasn't too sure exactly but he realized that it could be Alex.

"Maybe you shouldn't answer it…" suggested Makoto.

Haruka selected to accept and listened carefully on the other line.

"HARUKA!" gasped Makoto.

"Yes?" asked Haruka.

"H-Ha-Haruka? Is that you?" came the reply.

Haruka's eyes widened as he briefly smiled, "A-Alex?!"

"Huh," smirked Rei, "About time he gave a call."

"Yayz!" cheered Nagisa while the others looked at Rei suspiciously.

"What…Rei?" asked Rin, "What are you talking about?"

"I don't understand," said Makoto.

"Haruka, it's me…I'm glad that I managed to find you guys finally," said Alex over the other phone line.

"But…how did you find out my number?" asked Haruka.

"I'm sorry but that's a story; listen, my family and I are safe for now; we've moved out to my grandma's house in Phoenix. As for my house in L.A. it'll be safe; there's nothing that the Haus would take since no one really unpacked everything yet," explained the foreigner.

"I'm happy to hear that he's alright at least," nodded Nitori.

"I hope he is though," said Mikoshiba, This chase is far from over."

"He'll be fine, I know he will," replied Nitori.

"You ended up where?" asked Haruka, "With who?"

"The Terran Nost," answered the boy, "They're the people who helped me find you guys in the first place, and they have a division here in Arizona so my brother and I are going to stay with them for safety until we make our next move. However, my brother is complaining about going back to the house."

"I see," replied Haruka.

"Haruka, is everything okay with you and the others?" asked the foreigner.

"Of course, Nagisa, Rei, Kou, and Nitori have graduated finally," he answered.

"Aw, tell them I said congrats," replied Alex.

"Will do," said Haruka.

"I hope to return soon, but I don't know…not with the hot chase going on…I'm nervous," said the foreigner.

"You'll be alright; use your Suiei God…he'll be there to answer you," replied Haruka.

"Thanks, I'll let you go," said Alex as he whispered, "I love you."

Haruka blushed slightly but smiled saying, "You too, okay? Be careful now…bye."

He hung up the phone as he muttered, "The Terran Nost, just how much do they know about us?"

He turned to look at the others as Rin said, "You better explain yourself Rei, you acted like as if you knew something!"

"What's there to explain," shrugged Rei.

"Ummm…Rei?" asked Gou.

"What is the Terran Nost? Who are they?" asked Haruka, "Alex said that they were the ones who found us…but…"

"I'm pretty sure you can ask them yourselves," replied the megane as he fixed his glasses with the look on his face.

"Rei, what?" asked Nagisa, annoyed.

"Well sounding suspicious about us…it appears that they almost remind me too much of Deception MIA," said Rin.

"They might as well be like the Deception MIA," nodded Rei.

The other four boys stood there shocked, wondering if the organization was corrupted with the Haus maybe in terms of any form of manipulation. As they remembered back in the Time Loop, Arogean created both the Deception MIA and Swim-Cadet X as alpha and beta to the Dark Code Organization.

"But that's not really important, I'm still not quite sure who they are yet but I believe they're the good guys," said the megane.

"As long as Alex is safe; then I will put my trust," agreed Makoto.

"Don't forget his brother," said Rin, "There's two now."

"So that leads up to this…what now?" asked Nagisa.

"Well since we're all now on summer break," replied Rin, "We will need to make a move…"

"But there's no way we can leave the country now, the Haus is looking for us too!" replied Makoto.

"It's not as bad compared to Alex's situation…we need to get to the states," said Haruka.

"How about Izawa?" asked Nitori, "I'm sure she has something up her sleeve since she's always vanishing here and there instantly."

Before the others could answer, the foreign girl busted in as she cried out, "I am here!"

"Perfect timing…" said Nitori, "You are able to take people around to a certain place, right?"

"Yes I can…or I could," she replied.

"Listen, we need to get to America…more specifically, a town called Phoenix," explained Haruka, "I don't know if you've been there or not, but that's where we need to go."

"All I need is a map and a picture and I shall get you guys there ASAP," she smiled.

"Um Haru," said Makoto, "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"We have to make a move before the Haus finds him," replied Haruka, "The family is going to need help since Alex and his brother are in hiding and the family is getting worried by the minute."

"Then I'll go," said Rin as he got up on his feet, "I guess I could use some traveling again, I kinda regret for not going to the states when I was a kid but hey, due to the balance of the universe…"

"Then it's settled," said Nagisa.

"Yeah…it is," sighed Rei.

"You want to go too Rei?" asked Haruka.

"No, Rin should go," nodded the megane.

"Anyone else?" asked Rin.

"I'll go," said Gou, "I missed talking to Alex."

"Sister!" replied the older brother, "It's dangerous!"

"Girl power is needed sometimes," she smiled as she blinked her left eye.

Rin sighed and said, "I understand…but I don't want to lose you. This is a serious case right now, I won't be surprised if those guys came to town heavily armed."

"Geez brother, stop underestimating me," she replied, slightly annoyed, "I can help out, okay? Let's go get him back! Alex and his brother back together!"

"We'll need a map and some pics," said Haruka.

"Got that!" smiled Rin as he took out his phone and looked up what was needed.

"Oh um…I'll need to juice up so I'll be back in a few," said Izawa as she rushed out the door, "I'll…uh, be back in ten."

"Haru, please be careful," said Makoto.

"You two should send a message to our animal allies," replied Haruka.

Sai peeped a few noises and jumped off the couch as it stared at Haruka.

"Can you tell the other animals that an escape route may be needed?" asked the tsundere.

Sai nodded and wobbled his way out the door. Nagisa watched as the penguin was there outside one moment but vanished the next.

"That's crazy!" answered Makoto, "Riding on animals back on a long journey like that?"

"I'm sure the Suiei Gods have given them some abilities to hold people as passengers," said Haruka, letting a few sweat drops with a nervous smile.

Makoto face-palmed and said, "Well I wouldn't be surprised on the miracles…"

"I wonder how Sai would take me anywhere," sighed Nagisa.

Meanwhile, Rin sent the pics he found as well as a map of the town to the printer while Rei fetched the copies and they waited for Izawa to return.

"Nice town," said Rin as he looked at the pics, "I kinda like the desert theme. I so want to buy some souvenirs down there!"

Now it was Haruka's turn to face-palm as he answered, "Rin, this isn't the time to go shopping."

Izawa dashed back in the house as she was looking a bit more lively saying, I'm back! You guys all set?"

Haruka snatched the papers from Rin and handed it over to Izawa as she scanned and analyzed the pics and info.

"Um sora-chan you were gone for less than 10 minutes," said Nagisa as he sweat drop with a bit of a nervous smile.

"Rin? Kou? You both ready?" asked Haruka.

"Yep!" said Gou, "So ready to go!"

"I guess we are," nodded Rin.

"Last call?" asked Haruka.

"I would but…Nagisa and I will stay with Rei to find some more stuff about the Haus; hopefully we can find out where they are so we can launch our battle against them," said Makoto.

Haruka, Rin, and Gou held hands in a triangle as they waited for Izawa to prepare and chant her magic. Both Rin's and Haruka's necklace glowed in response as a collaboration of a combination of magic going on.

"Alright! Let's get some spell working!" chuckled Izawa, "Oh Earthly Magic, hear my dear prayer, please bend space, give passage these children of the heavens and child of the earth passage to where they wish to get!"

A small breeze of air swirls around the three as sparkles surround them, Izawa's eyes glow green and the kids vanish as Izawa collapses on the ground coughing blood from her throat.

"Shit... even when they helped... dammit..." she growled.

"I-Izawa?" asked Makoto.

* * *

**Out in the deserts of Arizona…**

The trio opened their eyes and the first thing they felt was the heat; the dry heat was blowing at them as the sands raged with fury across the desert. They were on slopes of the Rocky Mountains and ahead of them was the grand city of Phoenix.

"Damn, this heat," said Rin as he was already getting sweat on his face.

"Let's get moving and find some shade," replied Haruka.

"Alright," agreed Gou, "Let's get out of this infernal sun!"

They rushed down the slopes carefully, trying to avoid the Cacti and other sharp plants, rocks, and animals that scattered around.

"Um," said Rin, "You don't think that…ama-chan is still there? Is she?"

"I don't know, but we can't get caught by her or the Haus either way," answered Haruka.

"Possibly; I mean, if they don't have Alex yet," nodded Gou.

The winds grew stronger as he sand smacked into them as they barely covered their eyes. Annoyed, Haruka used his limited powers as he chanted a river as a gigantic fist of water smashed to the ground and created a river of some water.

"Oh that's great," sighed Rin as he walked up to it and scooped his hands in.

"I don't know how long this will last...but we better drink," said Haruka as he scooped his hands in.

"Um, Haruka…wouldn't this alert the Haus?" asked Gou.

"We still got ways to go before we hit the city," he answered, "Besides…this heat will dry the river up in no time before they get a chance to reach out here."

Gou nodded as she took her hands in and drank some of the water; it was at least fresh and cold but the heat was going to warm it up quickly and evaporate it soon.

"So then," said Gou, "How will we get back? Sora-chan isn't here."

"I told Makoto to talk to the animals…hopefully they'll come up with something," he answered.

"But Arizona isn't close to the ocean…well…except for a strip of water that's in Mexico," replied Rin, "And I've heard a shit ton of news about the walls that border the States and Mexico in terms of illegal immigration."

The other two remained silent for a moment as the sun continued to beat the heat on them.

"I have a bad feeling about this," she blushed in nervousness.

"We have to find a road that can get us to the city," said Haruka.

Rin nodded as he used his x-ray vision on his eyes and saw something further down.

"Ah…there is," he said as he began to run, "It's a big road too so hopefully we can follow it to the city!"

The three began their long journey as they followed the road and the river as they made sure to drink plenty of the water from the river before it dried up. They were getting closer and closer to the city as the sun continued to shine above as it was slowly heading down to the west.

After about an hour or so of traveling by foot, they were getting closer to the suburbs at the least, knowing that they were one step closer into finding Alex.

"Almost there!" smiled Rin as his shark teeth were displayed.

"We don't know where Alex could be though," sighed Haruka, "He could be anywhere…"

"Why don't we try an internet café?" shrugged Gou.

Before the others could answer, they saw something falling down from the sky heading towards them. They barely dodged out of the way as the impact smashed into the sands, barely missing the cacti.

"I-Izawa?" asked Haruka.

"I uh…yo, 'sup?" she asked as she brushed off the sand.

"Well it's a good thing that you caught up," said Rin.

"Alex could be anywhere in the city though," repeated Haruka, "We don't know where he could be at. Kou suggested that we should try an internet café so I guess we could go there…"

Rin took out his wallet but he realized that the money wasn't changed. He growled, "SHIT! We don't have the correct currency here!"

"Oh it's not a problem; just give it to me and I'll connect them to the banks for exchange," smiled Izawa.

The three took out their wallets and gave them to Izawa as she set them down and asked, "So what's the currency here?"

"The American U.S. Dollar Bill," said Haruka.

Rin managed to get some signal as he showed Izawa the money on the internet pictures. Izawa nodded and chanted another spell as she connected the money to an exchange and banks as the money transformed from the yen to the dollar bills.

"Here ya go, with the equivalent amount as well!" she nodded.

"At least we can do something now," replied Haruka.

"Let's go then!" smiled Gou.

The four go down to the city where they have paid a bit of the money to get onto the busing system as well as getting some passes for the rides. From what they discovered on their phones, they have landed in the north-western desert area of the land and were heading south-east and were arriving in local towns such as Surprise, Sun City West and the neighborhoods around. After walking around in the suburbs, they found an outside local market and they went around getting something to eat.

After they had a brief early dinner, they continued their search when they came across another market that had such unique clothes that they has never seen.

"What's this?" asked Haruka as he looked at some of them, particularly the bathing suits.

"Whoa there," said Rin as he saw various clothes that were made in the middle east.

"Wow…they look so pretty!" smiled Gou as she as stunned by the pieces set.

Haruka looked at a clothing set that had a white and blue hat, a sword, and a uniquely designed two piece outfit that seemed to have a midriff design. Rin saw a dark violet cloak with white loose pants and a red sash with a set of jewelry.

"These would be great souvenirs!" laughed Rin as he was stunned by the clothes.

Izawa was a bit confused as the three were stunned by the outfits.

"But they're not made in America," said Haruka.

"Who cares? Well okay, we should at least get one or two things…but," replied Rin when his expression changed, "Damn…they're too expensive!"

"Does it really matter?" asked Gou.

Haruka's necklace suddenly glowed followed by Rin's glow as well.

"Um…does your necklaces like the outfits…or is it trouble?" asked Izawa.

Seconds after she asked that, they all heard an explosion nearby.

"Oh shit!" shouted Haruka.

"Dammit!" growled Rin, "There's always something going wrong."

"Let's go!" said Gou, "But does something always end up an explosion?"

"I personally think that's insane but you get used to it," sighed Izawa.

They rushed down the streets and saw smoke coming ahead from the houses but it was like deep in the neighborhood while they were out on the busy streets.

"Can you make a quick teleport?" asked Haruka as he pointed to the fire.

"I'll try," she answered as she closed her eyes while the three held hands as they reappeared several yards away from the fire.

A sign labeled "West Mauna Loa Lane" was the name of the street they were on as they rushed over to the fire. A house was engulfed in the flames as Rin and Haruka sensed an unusual power being burnt off from the smoke and the ashes.

"We have to put it out!" shouted Rin as he extended his hand.

"I just hope we have some powers left," muttered Haruka as he followed suit.

"Waters of the skies…" chanted Rin, "Send forth the rain of rebirth!"

"Waters of the blue…" replied Haruka, "Send down the rain of healing!"

The two combined their powers as rain showers doused the flames and extinguished the fire away after a few moments of fighting it off. There were still some vapors from the smoke remaining but the flames were gone at least.

"We should see if there's anyone inside that's okay or not," said Rin as he ran up to the door.

"Let's go!" agreed Haruka.

"Um okay!" said Gou.

"Right," blushed Izawa as they got inside the door.

They stepped inside the house and saw that it was a giant room combining the kitchen, dining, and living room in one space while three hallways branched off; two of them lead to bedrooms while another led to a closet, laundry room and the garage.

Ahead, they saw a backyard that was small but it had some high walls and there were was some sort of a patio there also.

"There!" said Rin as he saw four adults standing by the court yard as one of them was on the ground, having difficulty getting up. Two of them were much older than the others but the four were much older in age.

"Mother!" said Alex's father, "Are you alright? The fire seems to have stopped; we're okay now."

The grandmother coughed and replied, "A-at-least it was a miracle…"

The grandfather replied in his heavy accent, "Perhaps…but I hope Sandro and Sergi are okay."

Haruka, Rin, Izawa and Gou stepped into the courtyard as they saw the four already speaking in a foreign language of some sorts.

"Um excuse us," said Haruka, being careful not to sound too awkward as the adults turned to see the younger children standing before them.

"Who are you?" asked Alex's mother, "How did you see the fire? Did you guys called the fire department?"

"Honey," said Alex's father, "Let's not worry about that right now, the boys are still missing and they have to be found!"

"We are friends of your son, Alex," replied Haruka.

"Oh you mean, Sandro?" asked Alex's father, keeping his son's true name with pride with a slight annoyance of having his older son being referred to as Alex. He never understood his son's feelings about his name being bullied after the incident when the boy was bullied in high school.

"Please rest assured," said Rin, "We will find them."

"Yes," agreed Gou as she stepped out in front of them, asking, "Could you please tell us where you think they were last?"

The grandmother coughed as she tried to answer, "San-sandro told me that he was taking Sergi boy to downtown for a few hours, and said that they'd be home by 6, but it's 8:30 now…"

"Armeta!" snapped the grandfather, "Please control yourself!"

"Rem! I should have gone with them," she replied, "You lil'jose!"

"But there's nothing we can do about it," he answered.

"Well are you guys going to stand there or are we going out to find them?" asked Izawa, trying to hold her cool.

"Let's get her back on her feet at least," said Haruka as he and Rin helped the grandmother upright on her feet again as they all went inside the house to check for damage.

They noticed that most of the damage was the garage and several of the roof tiles were burnt but thankfully the quick action of using their magic saved the house from total destruction.

I don't know what caused the fire…but let's go now," said Haruka.

"Are you guys sure you don't want to eat anything?" asked Alex's mother.

"We'll feed you all at least before you go," said the father.

"We'd be more than happy to, but we should get them at least," replied Rin.

"Well please be careful," said the mother.

The four nodded as they walked back outside and followed to the main roads again. The mother began to cry a little in worry for her sons. She turned to her husband as they stood in silence.

"We'll have put our faith in god and pray for their safe return," said the father as he quietly muttered the prayers.

* * *

_**To Be Continued: December 18, 2013**_

_**See you water next time! :3**_


	6. Chapter 5: Journey to the States Pt 2

**_Chapter 5: _**アメリカ合衆国への旅 - パート2：大胆な脱出！  
**_Journey to the States – Part 2: A Daring Escape!_**

_I don't have much juice left in me... sigh, guess I'll have to outshine myself this time_, thought Izawa as she followed the trio heading for one of the bus stops.

"Um guuuuuyysss, where are we going?" she asked.

"Downtown," said Haruka, "It has to be a starting point."

"Yeah but they could have gone anywhere," sighed Rin.

"We can't give up," nodded Gou, "The family has entrusted us…somewhat."

Haruka turned to see the bus as Rin read the sign that it was heading downtown. They used their passes to get on and got to the heart of the city around 9:30 at night. From there, they continued their search.

"I'm going to try to use that power again," said Haruka as he closed his eyes for a moment. Suddenly, his legs were moving on his own as he was following in the direction of the city.

"Oi! Haru, wait up!" shouted Rin.

"He went this way!" he cried out.

The gang followed the trance Haruka as his necklace glowed in a blue arrow, pointing to where they had to go. After another half hour or so, they found themselves at a coffee shop where they saw a set of stairs on the wall of the alley.

"He's up there?" asked Gou.

"Oi!" said Rin, "We don't even know what is up there?"

"Terran Nost?" predicted Haruka, "He said he was with them."

"I'll go in first," said Izawa, "Unless if you guys want to save me a bullet."

The gang rushed up the stairs as Haruka was leading them to the door. When they got to the top they saw a little slot on the door way as well as a bell with a chain to the right. Haruka pulled on the chain as the slot opened and two eyes were shown.

"Password?" asked the man when his eyes suddenly widened, "Oh, oh, oh! Never mind that, they're here!"

The door opened up as the four stepped in as they saw a crowd of 4 or 5 people stationed at a computer while a tall lady stood to the side as if she waited for them. To the side, there was a private bar and some couches in which Izawa's mouth was drooling for alcohol

"Just like the photos…" said Lizia.

"Stalking much?" asked Gou.

"ALCOHOL!" smiled Izawa.

"You gotta be 21 miss if you wish to drink that stuff," said Greg.

"Meh, I've lived longer than that," blushed Izawa, "I'll just have something small and light for starters then."

"Where is Alex-kun?" asked Rin.

"He's in bed, sleeping," replied Lizia, "Anyway, my name is Lizia and we are the Terran Nost of the Arizona Division. I lead the people here in this department while Leon is our overall boss and his headquarters are in L.A., California."

"We have to get him and his brother back," said Haruka while holding his fist to his heart, "The family is worried sick!"

"Um Haru, maybe you should give him a visit and wake him up?" asked Gou.

"I suppose that it's safe now for them to return…but Haus is continuing to…" began Lizia when she caught Haruka's deadly stare.

"Tell me how much you know about them?" asked Haruka darkly as if he was ready to snatch someone down.

"Haruka!" snapped Rin, "Control yourself!"

"No," he answered as he stared at the tall lady with narrowed eyes, "More importantly…why do you know about us? Or legend…our history?"

"We didn't," said Greg, "We just learned them rather recently…both your story and the Haus's recent moves. We have been aware of the Haus for a bit longer but they were being showed up around the internet here."

"Judging from this," added Carol, "They have been around for a while but they've been in hiding from the public."

"Haru, just relax," said Rin as he rested his hand on the other boy's shoulder.

"There is nothing to fear," replied Emily, "The Terran Nost is a disciplined organization of hackers that keep the information quiet from the public. Our organization gets support from the California Main Division... where we get the proper tools and software needed."

"Where is Alex?" asked Haruka.

"He's down in the last room there while his brother ins in the room next to him," answered Lizia as she pointed down the hallway.

Haruka walked to Alex's room as he saw the boy asleep on the bed. He silently stared at the boy and wondered what he should do. Rin walked up behind Haruka and smiled.

"It'll be alright," said Rin.

"I guess so," replied Haruka.

* * *

Meanwhile, Sergio stared at the window in his temporally room as he sat on the bed looking out at the night skyline. It was quite beautiful to see the city finally but he was deeply concerned about the family.

_I…I can't sleep till I'm back_, he thought.

He heard a knock on the door.

"C-come in," said the little brother.

His eyes widened and blushed as he saw a nice girl with long red hair in a ponytail but had some bangs, with red-magenta eyes and a bright smile on her face. Even though Gou would often times have daydreams about strong, muscular men, she saw the young boy looking cute for his small, petite, shape even though he wasn't as muscular compared to Alex or the others.

_He is cute though_, thought Gou, _just like his brother…that's what they both have._

Finally she replied, "Hi there."

_Damn, she's…pretty_, thought Sergi as he blushed a little.

"Oh um…good evening," he answered as he turned away to not feel embarrassed, "I…um…"

"I'm a friend of your brother's, my name is Kou," she said.

"K-Kou?" asked Sergi, "What an interesting name…and you know my bro-brother?"

"Yep!" she nodded, "He's charming…your brother."

"Well he is unique if I say so myself," he agreed while staring out the window still, "He kept chasing after a way to save me…or so he says."

"He's really a nice guy; never gives up!" she smiled.

"I mean…I'm happy he doesn't…" said the boy, "But…I don't know…it feels weird to be talking after 19 years of silence…and being alone in my thoughts. I don't even remember how I began to talk; I woke up one morning and started to say things…but it's only been a month."

"Hmm…well I seriously don't know what to say about that," replied Gou, remembering the miracle that Alex and the other boys performed to save Sergi and the others who suffered like him.

Sergi finally turned around to her and said, "I still have more to learn; but I know he's strong both mind and his heart…and I'm sorry if I sound a bit awkward."

"Oh please don't worry about that," she answered, "You're doing fine."

"I guess it's just a lot of emotions right now," he said, "Autism is really a weird thing…I guess."

"Well I don't think of it that way, but now that you're better…" she smiled, "Just smile and don't worry about it! It'll be all fine."

"Yeah," he nodded as he gave a small smile, "What was my brother like…when he…I think it was called…Japan, right?"

"Well he was troubled a bit, but he came through," said Gou, "He was really nice, protective, and even brave!"

"It's probably because of me," replied Sergi, lowering his head down, "That he felt troubled…I was like his source of pain and happiness…"

"Oh don't say that!" gasped Gou, "It was not your fault to begin with, never your fault at all."

"I wished he could be happy again," replied the younger boy, "He smiled very briefly back in L.A…"

"But he is silly, he needs to get that into his head," chuckled Gou.

Sergi got up and stretched a little, asking, "Is he asleep now? And…are you the only one here?"

"Your brother is in bed, yes…and I came here with other friends," she answered.

"F-friends?" asked Sergi as he tilted his head, "I'm sorry if I am asking too much, I guess I'm only curious."

"They're both from Japan also. Rin and Haruka are their names. We also have a fourth friend who your brother doesn't know yet but she's good," she smiled.

"I see…" he answered as he yawned, "I can't sleep…but I'm tired…I want to get back to my family soon."

"It'll be alright," said Gou as she walked up to him, "We'll get you and you brother back to them safely. We saw them too, seriously nice people…"

"Well…" blushed Sergi, "They are overprotective of us…but I guess that I goes for any family."

Sergi saw a tall, red-haired boy standing by the door with strange looking teeth. Rin nodded as he wanted to hear what was going on.

"My brother sees this strange being…he's sort of like, an angel or something," said Sergi, "A spirit maybe?"

Gou was a bit confused at first but then she realized that he was referring to the Suiei Gods.

"My brother was learning to use water…in magical ways," said the younger brother, "I love magic tricks…but I've never seen anything like he was doing."

Rin walked in and said, "So you must be Alex's brother?"

"I am," smiled the other boy, "My name is Sergio, but most call me Sergi without the 'o' at the end."

"Well then, Sergi-chan," replied Rin, "We're here to get you and Alex back together with the family; however, there have been a lot of things happening."

"My brother is hiding a lot of mysteries from me," said the other boy, "He's too worried about safety."

"We'll explain what has gone before," answered Rin, "We can't tell you everything but we can tell you what is happening right at the moment at least."

"Sure thing," said Sergi as he extended his hand out, shaking hands with both of the Matsuoka siblings, "I'm glad to meet both of you."

"Yeah, it's gonna be alright," smiled Gou.

* * *

Meanwhile, Haruka stared at Alex as the latter was sleeping away. It was a long day for everyone but there was still a need to get him and his brother back to the family before the family would call the emergency and spread the news.

He walked up to the boy and saw his hand dangling out from the side. Haruka rested his hand on it and cupped them as one.

Alex felt warmth as he slowly woke up, muttering, "Th…this hand…it's like I've…?"

Finally both of their eyes met as Alex was stunned to see who was holding his hand.

"Hey there," said Haruka quietly.

Alex trembled at first, wondering if this was a dream so he jumped onto Haruka, filled with tears of joy as they fell on the bed together as he pinned Haruka down.

"How did you find me?" asked Alex.

"Oh we have our ways," replied Haruka as he gave him a kiss on the nose.

Alex bushed and said, "I…I'm sorry…and thank you. We are in a bad crisis right now, my family…we're all in danger. I don't know how I can explain it to my brother though…he may talk now but he's still lost in his memories."

"I'm sure he'll understand," answered Haruka as Alex gave him a kiss on the nose as well before giving a passionate kiss for a moment.

They eventually sat up on the bed and looked at each other.

"It's been a month now," said Haruka, "How is your training?"

"Oh it's going alright," he answered, "I've learned a few spells here and there. But how is Rei? Does he feel better?"

"More or less," replied Haruka, "Rin's keeping a close eye on him and their relationship."

"I see," said Alex, "Are you the only one here?"

"Nope," he answered, "Rin and Kou have joined me…along with another ally from a foreign world similar to Serah's."

"My Suiei God mentioned that there was someone you guys had to handle with, I hope she's alright," he said.

"Oh no worries, she's not an enemy but she's…very different that's for sure," said Haruka.

Alex nodded as he called out to his brother, "Brother!? BROTHER!?"

"Yeah!" shouted Sergi from the other room.

"You wanna go back? We'll go…but we will have to be careful, understand?" asked Alex.

Sergi jumped up and down and cheered, "Yay!"

Rin and Gou blushed a little but they were happy to see the younger brother finally feeling better from the stress.

"So you ready then?" asked Haruka.

"We're going to have to…there's not much time," he answered.

The five walked back to the main room to meet up with Izawa while Lizia was having Greg to send a message to Leon in order to send a message to Rei about the current status.

"We're sending a message to Rei that everything is all going well…Leon will send the actual message for us once we send it to him first," explained Lizia.

"Thank you," said Haruka.

Alex turned to his brother, "You ready?"

"Yes!" he smiled.

* * *

It was around 11 at night when the gang returned back to the house where the family cried out for the two boys. The parents hugged their two sons despite how the father was disappointed on what was happening.

The grandmother looked at the other four kids and asked, "You seem awfully tired…why don't you stay over?"

Haruka turned to the others and gave a nod of agreement. The others smiled, knowing that at least they'll be safe here for now.

They all walked inside where they split up the rooms; Gou and Izawa (despite how she wanted to sleep on the couch) in one of the guest bedrooms while Rin, Haruka, Alex, and Sergi took the other guest bedroom even though the rooms were a bit on the smaller side. The parents of the boys slept on the couches while the grandparents slept in their master bedroom.

"I'm glad we're all okay," said Sergi as he settled down on his bed.

"Brother, don't hog the sheets, okay?" asked Alex.

"I'll stay on the floor," answered Rin.

"Me too," said Haruka.

"Um…guys, are you okay with that?" asked Alex.

"Brother, I can stay on the floor if…" began Sergi.

"No," replied the older brother, "You deserve to have the sleep that you…"

"I guess we can all try to sleep in," sighed Rin as he got on the bed next to Sergi while Haruka slept next to Alex; the two brothers were in the middle as they blushed in a bit awkwardness but chuckled.

* * *

**Back in Japan: Earlier in the Day…**

Makoto, Rei, and Nagisa got on the boat as they rode their way out to the bay, seeking the animals.

"Haru-chan said that a message was needed to our allies; hopefully they can relay it to the others," said Makoto.

"Right," nodded Nagisa, "I wonder where Sai went?"

"I'm sure he's talking to the others," replied Rei as they turned to see an Orca peaking its head out. Makoto smiled at the animal as it jumped into the air and splashed a little.

"My dear allies," said Makoto, "Our friends are far away from this land, go seek the message they need to find an escape route! Make sure all is well!"

The orca squealed and jumped around and splashed before making its departure, heading out to the ocean where the other orcas swam.

"You know, I'll always wonder why do you get the killer whale," blushed Rei.

They returned to land and went back to the house where they saw Mikoshiba and Nitori cleaning up a little from the breakfast. Mikoshiba stared out at the window and closed his eyes.

_Gou…I hope you're alright,_ he thought.

"It's been since this morning that they left," sighed Nitori.

"I'm sure they're alright," said Makoto.

"They better," replied Nagisa, "I'm a bit worried about that crazy girl…she had a hard time to teleport herself out there but meh…"

"Well what else do we need to do before they get back?" muttered Rei.

"I wonder what Alex's animal would be…" said Makoto.

"Probably something weird…like not butterflies," replied Rei.

"Anyway, what are we going to do next?" asked Nagisa.

"Well we still need to pinpoint our enemy's base," answered Makoto, "They have to be defeated soon."

"That sounds a bit tricky," said Nitori as he put the dishes away, "Going up against the government or worse, a secret organization."

"But it's our only shot that we have left," replied Mikoshiba, "If we are to end this censorship…and their evil scheming."

"Are you able to find them, Rei-chan?" asked Makoto.

"I guess it's time to hack into a satellite," sighed Rei.

"NEEEEH!?" gasped Makoto, "A-a satellite!?"

"Well I can't figure it out by residential search," blushed Rei as he scratched his head a little before he had an idea suddenly, "Why can't we just ask the gods?"

_Izawa,_ thought Nitori, _I hope you're alright._

"Well we don't know much about their current status," said Makoto when his necklace suddenly glowed, "Oh…sounds like they heard us. Tachibana, can you hear me?"

"Yes," replied the Suiei God's voice inside his mind, "I hear you loud and clear."

"I know it's been a month or so…but we need help," said Makoto, "Our friends have gone to the states to rescue Alex-chan…."

"So it seems," replied Tachibana.

"What's the matter?" asked Makoto.

"Time is beginning to run out, Mako-chan," answered Suiei Tachibana.

"Ryugazaki," muttered Rei to his Suiei God, "Any news on what Hazuki has been doing? Can it help with locating the Haus?"

"He needs more time Rei," replied the Suiei God, "Or so he tells me. Leave him be at the moment; we have to focus on the Haus's next move."

"Let's leave them be," said Mikoshiba as he and Nitori held hands and walked to a different room.

Nagisa thought to himself, _it should be alright…_

"We believe that the Haus will capture the Marotta family," said Tachibana, "But you have sent help to them. However, despite this, the Haus has already left California and are entering Arizona."

"But…how are we going to get them to dodge that, put them back in L.A?" asked Makoto.

"Well it's best to keep them moving from such organization," said Rei.

"Then all we can do now is hope the others will see Alex through, right?" asked Nagisa.

Makoto nodded as he turned to see the laptop as the screen was blinking, "The computer! Rei, look!"

"Is it a message?" asked Rei as he walked over the computer. However, the screen stopped blinking and turned dead.

"I think it just crashed…shit," muttered the megane.

Suddenly, the screen turned back on as he saw a message blinking and accepted it; it was from Leon.

"They have been found safely and have returned back to the family," read Makoto.

"Well that's fortunate," agreed Rei, "They are back with the family…"

"I wished we knew where the enemy base was located," sighed Makoto.

"We can't really track down the Haus by ourselves…" said Nagisa.

Makoto took out the files that Haruka investigated earlier. They haven't read much information on there since there was a lot of fine print and calculations and signatures. Meanwhile, Sai wobbled back in and saw Nagisa sitting on the chair.

"Peep! Peep!" chanted the penguin as it wobbled over to Nagisa.

"Sai!" gasped Hazuki, "Where have you been, tracking Haus?"

"Peep!" nodded the penguin as it jumped up and down while trying to explain.

"Wait, what!?" asked the blonde.

"No!" gasped Makoto as he read something in particular.

"What's the matter, Makoto?" asked Rei.

Makoto took the pics and the papers to Rei, "Does this look familiar?"

Rei took the papers and read the location address of where the bill was signed as well as the location of the Haus of the Heavens. His eyes widened as he looked at Makoto and Nagisa.

"Is that…!?" asked Rei.

"Afraid so…but look at the pictures, it looks different than what we remember!" said Makoto.

"Sai says that he saw the location of the Haus…but is it true!?" gasped Nagisa.

"Shinjuku Tower…X," muttered Makoto as his eyes flickered neon green briefly.

"Peeeeep!" cried the penguin as it jumped up and down.

"You saw that too, didn't you?" asked Makoto, "The place where it all began…"

The penguin nodded as it turned to Nagisa.

"Not there again…" said the blonde as he remembered back in the Time Loop when the gang was on a rescue mission for Haruka against the Swim-Cadet X. And later they returned there when they were seeking out one of the three magical gifts that would break the Time Trap Spell.

Now in this universe, the Tower and the Haus were located in that very same spot.

"We can't get a vacation from there, can we?" sighed Rei.

Mikoshiba and Nitori walked in as they heard the commotion from before.

"We have an old place to visit," said Rei.

"And I really don't want to go there…" sighed Nagisa.

"But if that's where the attack must be," replied Mikoshiba, "We'll have to finish them off; but you got us this time for support!"

"Yeah!" agreed Nitori, "We'll stand together no matter what!"

"True," nodded Makoto, "But those guys…they're heavily armed…without magic, one cannot survive going on there."

"It'd be soooooo much easier if we could turn invisible," said Nagisa as the penguin wobbled over to cuddle with the blonde.

"Alex hasn't even seen that place yet," replied Makoto, "I wonder if he'll…no. We have to believe in him."

"Exactly," nodded Rei, "This may be a new place for him but at least we are familiar."

"We'll have to start prepare for this journey…once the others are back, we'll make our move," answered Makoto.

"I'll seek to what they have," said Rei.

"Right," sighed Nagisa.

"We got some headsets actually that you can use to communicate with us," said Mikoshiba, "That way we can at least hear each other out."

* * *

**Marotta Household, Phoenix, AZ.**

Alex woke up and yawned a little and stretched out his. He turned to see Haruka still in bed while Rin and Sergio were already up and about.

Sergi walked into the room and said loudly, "About time you woke up!"

"Hush now," said Alex as he turned his head to see Haruka sleeping, "He's still a bit sleepy."

"Well everyone else is awake, even the girls," replied Sergi.

"I see," said Alex as he got out of the bed while Rin walked out of the restroom and they headed to the kitchen.

Meanwhile, Haurka woke up after listening to an important message from his Suiei as he muttered, "So it's true then…our enemy is at the same place…"

* * *

At the table, Rin was stunned to see all of the different food that he hasn't seen, "Wow! Look at all of the food here!"

"These omelets are called frittatas," said Alex as he pointed to the yellow, circular shaped omelets with seasoning and peppers and onions, "And we also have some sausage with peppers mixed in and some hash browns here as well. Over there are some croissants with butter and jelly."

"They all look delicious," replied Gou as Izawa walked in and was excited to see the food on the table.

"Please enjoy," said Alex's mom as she went to the stove to check on the eggs and bacon for Sergi.

"Yum!" smiled Gou as she sat down to eat.

"Of course," said Rin as she sat next to his sister and Sergi and the trio began to dig in.

Alex smiled as he sat down next to Izawa and saved a seat for Haruka while the parents sat at the other table.

"Hey Rem! Rem!" snapped Armeta in her slight accent, "What are you doing!? Just come over and eat!"

"Armeta," he replied, as he tried to peel off some of the burnt paint, "I can't stand the burnt stuff form the fire!"

"Oh you pazzo (crazy)!" sighed the grandmother as she poured out some juice in her glass, "Get over here now you little José!"

_Man, they're funny_, thought Rin as he was being careful not to laugh.

_Oh nonna, nonno,_ thought Alex as he took a sip of his drink.

_I swear to goddess_, thought Izawa as she had a sweat drop of nervousness.

_Awww,_ thought Gou.

"I'm going to make some coffee…or rather espresso," said Alex's father as he got up and went to the coffee maker.

"I'll have one," replied Alex, "Oh, and do you guys drink coffee?"

"Once in a while," said Rin, "It kinda messes up my stomach."

"Yep, I'll have one!" smiled Gou.

Haruka finally walked into the room and yawned a little.

"Good morning Haru-chan!" said Sergi with his cute smile.

"Oh um, brother…" replied Alex

"You don't have to add a suffix," sighed Haruka, "I don't like it when people use –chan."

"Oh I'm sorry," blushed Sergi, "I didn't think…"

Alex giggled to himself as he face-palmed while Rin smirked to himself at the cute innocence that the younger brother was made of.

"We're eating now Haru," said Gou, "Come and join us!"

"Right," nodded Haruka as he sat down and joined at the table.

"Do you guys put vodka in coffee?" asked Izawa.

"Actually, we use liquor," replied Alex's mom, "We have a few types of liquor that we add…there's one called 'Punch Abbruzzo', 'Lemoncelo', 'Disoriano', and a few others. But you still want some vodka?"

"Yes please," nodded Izawa, "It's usually the next best thing to calm down the thirst."

"I didn't know one could put alcohol in coffee?" said Rin, feeling a bit confused.

"Alcohol mixes with anything that doesn't kill you," said Izawa.

"Well I know that alcohol is used for cooking but I never thought it would be used in coffee," sighed Rin.

The father got the machine to go as the mother prepared several cups. A plain one for Alex and Gou, one with vodka for Izawa and the rest had liquor for the adults.

"Plain coffee for you Sandro," said the father as he handed the coffee to the boy.

The mother handed the coffee with vodka to Izawa as she gave thanks and feels a bit better after the long mess.

"So um…what was your name again?" asked Alex's mother to Gou.

"It's Kou," replied the girl, smiling.

"Alrighty then, here's your coffee as well; it's plain like Sandro's," said the mother.

"We also got cream and sugar here," replied the father as he handed down the creamer and the sugar.

"I prefer mines plain," said Alex as he took a sip.

"So you like it strong?" asked Haruka.

"Of course," he replied, "It keeps me more awake."

Gou took some of the sugar and placed it in her coffee as she enjoyed the warm drink.

"But wouldn't it make you crash out later, Alex-chan?" asked Rin.

"I don't drink coffee all the time," he answered, "So it's fine."

"Mama, I want some coffee," said Sergi.

"No," replied the mother, "You won't sleep after that and I know how late you love to stay up!"

"owhhhhhh…" whined Sergi as he slumped down in his chair.

"So then," said Izawa, "What are we going to do today? We plan to be here for a bit?"

* * *

After breakfast, the kids decided to go to the backyard and hang out a little while planning to figure out what to do next. Meanwhile, the two Marotta brothers took turns in a game of bocce. Rin was fascinated on such game as the red and green balls rolled their way across the field and hit into other balls like a game of marbles.

"Quite an interesting game?" asked Rin.

"Yeah, you have to roll these different balls to see which of them gets closest to the white one there," said Alex as he pointed to the white, smaller ball on the other end of the court, "You guys are more than welcome to try."

"I'll pass," said Haruka, "I only swim free…"

"This isn't about swimming Haruka," sighed Alex.

"We should try this Haru!" smirked Rin, "I'll go with Sergi and you with Alex?"

Haruka stood there silent for a moment while Izawa pouted with annoyance while sitting on the swing-bench. Gou turned to see what was up with Izawa but she remained silent.

"What's the matter Sora-chan?" asked Gou.

"I miss cook boy," she muttered.

"Sora!" sighed Gou, "Could you at least call him by his name? Umm, why don't you watch the game it'll distract you! Look the boys are gonna play!"

Haruka sighed and joined up with Alex while Rin took on the team with Sergi as the four began the match. After a brief introduction and practice on how to play, the game begins as they fiercely tossed the balls across the court in order to reach the white ball on the other end.

"Go brother!" cheered Gou.

Alex tossed the green ball across the landscape as it struck the red ball out of the way, prompting Sergi to growl a little.

"Dammit!" said Sergi as he studied the scene and tossed the red one. It struck two of the green balls out of the way as the red one was the closest to the white.

"Nice move there, Sergi," said Rin.

Haruka sighed and took his turn and managed to get the red one out of the way but it was hard to say since it looked like a tie round.

_At least we are having a great time...the sun is just right and all_, thought Alex as he was staring at the skies for a moment.

Alex's Suiei Necklace glowed all of a sudden as they all jumped up to see what was happening; the others' glowed too just moments after.

"Oh shit!" said Izawa as she surveyed the area around as she sensed something odd in the air.

Suiei Marotta appeared before the crowd and said, "They're on their way….I can sense them."

"Dammit!" replied Alex, "We're gonna be out of time!"

"The Haus is on their way?" asked Gou.

"But how will we get my parents to move out again?" asked Alex.

"I'll do something about that," said Suiei Marotta as he used his magic to alter the attitude of the parents. Seconds later, the parents walked outside to the courtyard.

"You ready to return home?" asked Alex's father.

"We still have to unpack our things," replied Alex's mother.

"Yeah, we should get moving," sighed Sergi.

While the parents were preparing to make their return, the others had to formulate a new plan.

"So you'll meet us by the house?" asked Alex.

"Somewhere nearby," replied Haruka, "We'll find a place for us to hide."

"Then I'll see you later," he answered as he and Sergi followed their parents out while Haruka turned to Rin as he typed in the city.

"Santa Monica, Los Angeles," said Rin as he showed it to Izawa.

"Very well then," she answered as she chanted one of her spells to send them all to the city. The grandparents had to stay behind to keep up with the cats but as the others left, the Haus of the Heavens arrived but the grandparents were already out and about so nothing was progressed here.

"Dammit," growled one of the suited men, "They escaped!"

"We have no time to keep playing hide and seek…" said another suited man, "Perhaps they returned to California?"

"We'll have to make our move," replied another.

* * *

It took about 6 hours for the family to return to Los Angeles and through the traffic until they reached to the house. Nothing was damaged or taken as they unpacked their belongings.

Meanwhile, the others were not far from the house as they walked across the coastline as the sun was beginning to set down.

"So nice out here," said Rin.

Haruka was tempted to go in but he remembered that there was a pool at the house so he kept his expectations. He wondered how much progress the others were making…hopefully they have found their enemy's base so they can unleash their fury against the government and the Haus of the Heavens.

"Is something wrong Haru?" asked Gou.

Haruka shook his head and replied, "Not really. I wonder if our animals have arrived here."

"I'm sure they'll be fine," said Rin, "But I'm concerned about Rei and the others…I hope they located the enemy's base."

"Look!" said Gou as she pointed to the mansion ahead.

"Is that…?" asked Izawa.

"That must be his house," said Haruka, "Let's go!"

"But wait!" said Gou, "We can't let the other family members know that we're here!"

"I'm sure they'll understand," replied Haruka as he began to run with the others rushing behind.

* * *

Inside the mansion, Alex and Sergio were unpacking their bags and putting away some clothes, personal items and other things.

"I think they're here," said Alex.

"Huh?" asked Sergi, "You mean the others?"

"Yes," he replied, "I need to see to them."

"I'm going with you," said the younger brother as they rushed downstairs.

"Make sure the parents don't see us," replied Alex as they got out to the deck right by the pool and sure enough, they saw the gang running towards them across the beach.

The two brothers ran down the stairs and joined up with the group as they watched the sunset.

"It's nice out here," said Haruka.

"I'm glad you love it…the pool is up on the stairs but I'm worried my parents will…" began Alex.

Haruka grabbed his hand and they rushed to the pool deck while the others followed right behind.

"Oh boy, there they go," said Gou.

"There he goes again," agreed Rin.

They all arrived at the pool which was a smaller pool at the top with a water slide that connected to a larger pool at the bottom. Haruka was already stripped of his clothes with his bathing suit on and he jumped in.

Alex sighed and said, "Well you better get ready for this!"

He also stripped off and had his bathing suit ready beneath as he jumped in to join Haruka. Sergio sat down on one of the patio chairs while the girls and Rin had a bit of a sweat-drop with a nervous smile.

"Those two, I swear they're twins," sighed Rin.

"They sure know how to prepare themselves," said Sergi as he face-palmed.

"Those two are gonna make me puke rainbows," muttered Izawa.

"Oh gosh," added Gou.

"Is something the matter?" asked Sergi.

"Oh it's nothing," said Rin, "Don't worry about it."

"What about you, aren't you going in?" asked the younger brother.

"Well…um…hehehe," replied Rin as he stripped off and jumped in.

"Weirdos," said Gou and Izawa.

Sergi laughed for a moment and stretched his legs out on the chair before closing his eyes for a little nap. It was a long day and it would be a few hours till it was time for bed.

Alex took a breath from going underwater and said, "…I missed my old town…however…"

"What's the matter?" asked Rin.

"Oh it's nothing," replied the boy, not wanting to share the incident of his hometown of Mayfield to the others.

"What do you miss about it?" asked Haruka.

"Well…Mayfield Heights as you know…it was the place of my birth…and where I grew up," he explained, "Although I had a lot of problems…I also had a lot of happy memories that I wish to revisit…after all, I had some people that were very nice to me"

Rin thought a little about his times in Australia before he was going to say something. However, he stopped as his mouth opened briefly before he sighed.

"You girls wanna join us?" asked Alex.

"No dead people in there, right?" asked Izawa.

"Oh of course not," said Alex, "It's just water…I mean Haruka already got in before we did so it's a sign that it's safe."

"Well…" replied Gou, "I…I'll just sit and have my feet in…no bathing suit here, hehehe."

"Same here," said Izawa as she and Gou took off their shoes and rested their feet in the water.

Sergi fell asleep as he snored lightly with a little whistle.

"Your brother is cute," said Rin, "At least he's talking again finally."

"Yeah," replied Alex, "It feels like though as if we were little kids yesterday. He used to say a few words before he got sick…but I am sure you already know that."

Haruka remained silent to himself as he remembered the memories of Alex when he and Rei went into his mind to learn about the truth. However, there were still a ton of mysteries that needed to be solved.

Rin blushed slightly at the tattoo on Alex's neck since it was still glowing dimly but it was really quite beautiful. However, he forced his mind to stay in control since he made a relationship with Rei and he knew that he wouldn't be too happy about this if Rin stepped out of the boundaries.

"So then…what else do you do, Alex?" asked Rin, trying to maintain his composure.

"Well...I do like to read, sometimes go out for walks...I tried to live a somewhat simple life... after all of the stress," replied the boy as he slumped down into the water and broke to the surface again.

"You said that you haven't been swimming for a long time…" said Haruka, "May I ask why you stopped?"

Alex looked down at his own body and remembered those days when he was…

_Oh god no, never again_, he thought, _I cannot tell anyone how I truly felt…but it doesn't matter anymore since I'm no longer like how I used to look; but still._

Before Alex could give an answer, he turned to see his brother snoring a little bit louder. The older brother blushed and said, "Oh Sergi…"

"Um, Alex…" said Gou, "Where are the restrooms?"

"Oh um, they're by the main entrance of the house…turn right into the hallways and you'll see it straight ahead," he answered.

"We're gonna need a place to hide, the family isn't really expecting us," said Rin.

"There's a set of caverns not far from here," replied Alex, "It's down in the beach area but I have stored a cache of some non-perishable food and other things there."

"Well then, Haru?" asked Rin.

"Hmm?" replied the boy as he floated on his back.

Rin was going to ask him a question when Alex's mind was suddenly elsewhere…he was standing back in Japan but saw Rin, Haruka, Nagisa, and Makoto staring up at the tree. They were much younger in age as Rin told them about his journey to Australia.

"Haru, this is our only chance to swim together," said Rin, "If you swim with me, I'll show you something you've never seen before!"

"S-something…I've never seen," muttered Alex.

Rin turned to Alex and said, "What? Did you say something?"

Alex shook his head just as Suiei Marotta appeared to them, "Young prince, you and Sergi must get inside…it's almost dark out now."

They got out of the pool just as Gou returned and Alex woke Sergi up from his rest.

"Sergi, go on ahead, I'll meet you by the entrance," said Alex.

"Oh um…okay," he answered as he rushed up the stairs and headed to the front entrance.

"You be careful now," said Haruka as he gave Alex a brief kiss on the lips. Alex embraced it but quickly withdrew in fears that his brother saw this.

"Hey um, is there a mirror I can use?" asked Izawa.

"I'll send my Suiei to fetch it for you," said Alex as he mentally sent a message to Marotta to find a small, hand-held mirror. Once he got it, he gave it to Izawa and she hanged onto it.

Alex gave thanks to the group and rushed up the stairs while Haruka took his clothes and led the group down to the beach area as they were searching for the caves. However, Rin had a deep feeling about this as he somehow was able to empathize why Rei was having a bit of a jelly attack earlier about Haruka and Alex.

"You love him, don't you?" asked Rin.

"I told you before," said Haruka, "It's for his own good…"

"I didn't say it as if I was against you or him," replied Rin, "But listen…"

"Where are we staying?" asked Gou, confused on the destination.

"Alex told me about the caves…they're further down the beach," answered Haruka.

"And where are they exactly?" asked Rin.

"Are they far off?" asked Izawa.

Haruka turned to finally see an entrance, "Let's go! This must be it!"

They settle themselves in the cave but Rin was feeling rather uneasy. In his heart, he knew that there were a ton of questions and answers. Rin recalled when Rei questioned to Alex and Haruka about their bondage while the foreign boy was in Japan with them. He wanted to get some answers and figure out if there was something to this.

Gou and Izawa settled themselves in a separate area from Rin and Haruka as the two sat down to talk.

"What happened between the two of you?" asked Rin, "Rei was having a bit of a jelly attack while I was dealing with him."

"As I have told you…it happened and happened," said Haruka.

"Yes I get that," replied Rin, getting slightly annoyed, "But Rei cared for you too! Don't you remember that? He looked up to you and even called you senpai since you and the others have helped him…or at least back in the Time Loop…not to mention our bondage when we both laid Rei to ourselves…"

"I know that," answered Haurka, "But…when I spoke to Alex that night…the reason why he was losing himself…was because he said that 'love doesn't exist…it's only an illusion'."

Rin's eyes widened in a bit of a shock at first, "A…an illusion?"

"While Rei and I went to view his memories during the car chase, we got a glimpse of a portion of his life…but…when I took him during sex…I saw something new about his memories," explained Haruka, "I saw his old relationship…and the girl that he used to be with…but she kept injuring herself during her reckless activities…so he broke up from her and was too frightened to date again."

"Does Rei even know about that?" asked Rin.

"I don't think so," said Haruka, "Since Alex shielded those memories away from us while we were investigating him…Rei never got the chance to understand his feelings."

"I see," replied Rin, "You think we should tell him? Or would it make it worse?"

Before Haruka could answer, Izawa stepped into the room, "I heard some talking, am I interrupting?"

"No, we're just about done," said Rin, "But we need to talk to Rei…however, our phones…"

"Well you could do that…or…" began Izawa when she took out the mirror that Suiei Marotta gave to her earlier. However, the mirror had an image of Nitori on it as the boy was cooking something.

"I'm stalking him," blushed Izawa, "And if there's a mirror in the house…I can give a call."

"Well that's interesting," said Rin.

"W-what the hell?" asked Haruka, "You're stalking him?"

Izawa blushed but replied, "Cook-boy is cute, okay? Geez…anyway, I'll see if I can find Rei…"

Izawa brushed her hand across the surface and sure enough saw Rei sleeping in his butterfly bedroom design.

"Call out his name and he'll hear you," she said as she handed the mirror to Rin.

"You do it," said Haruka, "He's…"

"Fine," he answered as he clears his throat, "Rei! Oi! REI-CHAN!"

But there was no response as the megane was still sleeping peacefully on his bed.

"Haru, we have to do this together," said Rin, "Otherwise he isn't going to wake up."

Haruka hesitated for a moment before he nodded. He and Rin looked at the mirror closely as Rin counted to 3.

"REI!" they shouted.


	7. Chapter 6: Embracing Reunion

**_Chapter 6: 抱きしめる再会…_****_Embracing Reunion…_**

Rei slept peacefully in his bed as he was wondering how Rin and the others were doing. He could sense that all is going well since he could feel Rin's emotions through his Suiei and noticed that the red-hair boy is not going too far or naughty.

He suddenly heard a shout of his name as he jumped from his bed and fell off, making a loud thump on his back and looking for the source.

"Damn…" he muttered as he got up and saw the mirror that showed Haruka and Rin.

"Wh-what the fuck!?" gasped Rei as he saw the two through the image as they were in some sort of caverns or something.

"Hey there!" said Rin as he waved out and gave Rei a wink of his left eye.

"I hear you alright…oh…Izawa did this for you?" asked the megane.

"Oh, you knew about this?" asked Rin.

"No, but none of us can do this type of power," said Rei.

"Well it's an interesting way to communicate, that's for sure," sighed Haruka.

"And good morning, or afternoon or evening to wherever you are," replied the megane, "Is something wrong? Something happened? Or did you miss me?"

"All of the above," chuckled Rin, "Well we got Alex safely with his family. We're in California now."

"But from what Suiei Marotta said," added Haruka, "The Haus is hot on the trail again."

"Did you guys figure out where they are?" asked Rin.

"Yes…and you won't believe it," said Rei.

"Shinjuku Tower X…" muttered Haruka.

"Oi!? Haru, wait a sec!" gasped Rin.

"Or you just knew and decided not to tell us?" asked Rei, annoyed.

"No…" said Haruka, "Nanase told me in a dream…while we were staying in Phoenix with Alex's grandparents."

"Oh," replied Rei as he blushed a little, "Sorry about that."

"But still," said Rin, "Why didn't you tell us sooner?"

"You know that there was no time to chit-chat while we were in Phoenix…we had to find Alex and Sergi at the Terran Nost Phoenix HQ and then we returned to the house…" sighed Haruka.

"Yeah, yeah, I know that," replied Rin, "But…so it's there again?"

"Yep," nodded Rei, "It's incredible that we can't stay away from there…even after the Time Loop."

"Who knows," answered Rin, "Maybe it's not the same as we think it is?"

Rei shrugged at the question while Haruka remained silent before saying, "Um…Rei?"

"What's up?" asked the megane, "Did something go wrong?"

"No…but there was something I wanted to tell you back when Alex was in Japan with us…but we haven't had the time to go around about this."

"Oh just tell me," sighed Rei, "I'll be alright."

"When I slept with Alex that night," said Haruka, "Well…before that, he told me that he had a hard time with…'love' as in relationship. He thought that love doesn't exist for him…as it was an illusion."

"Oh?" asked Rei.

Haruka explained about Alex's old relationship with Bri as he shared what he knew based on the boy's memories. Rei nodded to the explanation as he was feeling somewhat relieved on the issue but he was still a bit confused on things.

"He fears that he would fall into greater debt so he broke up to keep his promise to his brother…" said Haruka, "Look. I know you're probably not happy about him or me, but can't you see what kind of a hell he went through? He concealed that memory away from us because he didn't want anyone to know what kind of burden he went."

"Look," said Rei, "If you're telling me to be cool about this…fine. I guess it makes more sense now. But I think it's obvious that people would stop believing in love…at some point. But that doesn't surprise me much that he went through all of that though."

"Love can vanish…but grows back like a flower," said Haruka, "Something my grandmother once told me."

Izawa sighed and said, "Unless you're Serah, in which case all your boyfriends die before your eyes until you find a 500 year old sorta immortal guy."

"Um…what was that all about?" asked Rin, having a wtf face.

"I…oh whatever," sighed Rei.

"Oh….so you guys didn't know about that?" asked Izawa, tilting her head to the side.

"We got bigger stuff to worry about," said Haruka.

"Right…Shinjuku," sighed Rei.

"Quite an infamous place," agreed Rin, "I feel that the universe likes our places of battle."

"More like it has bad taste…we need a vacation from there," nodded Rei.

"You can say that again," sighed Haruka, "Anyway, I don't know how much longer we'll be here…but how are the others?"

"Oh they're doing fine actually," smiled Rei, "We're all waiting for your return…so you guys better hurry."

"Right," nodded Haruka, "We'll have to prepare our battle once we get back. And Alex will be joining us since he's been training…but we still don't know what his animal would be."

"Probably not butterflies…so he'll be alright," said Rei.

"Well then, thanks a lot," nodded Rin, "We'll be going now."

"Right, just…get back home safely," said Rei.

"Yeah," replied Rin as he blow a kiss to Rei while Haruka waved.

"I uh…bye Rin," answered Rei as he sends a kiss and waved to Haruka.

"See you!" said Haruka.

"Bye you all, take care and hurry back safely!" said the megane.

The mirror disconnected them as Rin slumped down at the wall and said, "Well, at least things have been patched up."

"I still wonder what his animal is going to be," replied Haruka, "It's going to drive me crazy at least."

"My sister is probably asleep, we should rest now," answered Rin as he closed his eyes.

"Well then, I'll leave you two. I'm off to stalk Nitori again and don't tell him I do that, okay? Nights," said Izawa as she left the room.

Haruka sat at the opposite end of the room from Rin as he closed his eyes and rested.

* * *

**Next Morning…**

The mother woke up and walked down to the kitchen as she saw her husband warming up some coffee while doing some "work" on the computer.

"Are the boys up yet?" he asked.

"Probably not," she replied.

"Well they better get up," he answered, with a slight attitude of paranoia.

"What is your problem?" she asked, "It's not like Sergi is required to take medication any more…just let them be."

"Oh sorry…so, so, ss-s-sorry honey," he replied with a hint of sarcasm as he stuttered over the words on purpose to add up his temper.

The mother sighed and muttered under her breath as she walked to the windows and stared out at the ocean. Although it wasn't her type to be out in this part of the world, at least the beach looked nice.

_I still don't know how he got this place…_she thought, _I hope he didn't do anything illegal._

In the upstairs bedroom, Alex woke up and saw the sunrise and the mountains in the east while Sergi walked in and stood right by his side.

"Morning brother," said Sergi.

Alex smiled and rubbed his hand over his brother's hair and replied, "You too…it's quite nice outside, isn't it?"

Suiei Marotta appeared before them and said, "The others are in the caverns and it will also be the time to train again and show them your moves."

"NEEEH!?" gasped Alex, "But I…"

"Brother your magic is awesome!" giggled Sergi, "I can't wait to see how the others will react to this!"

"Well they're going to be out in a bit," said Suiei Marotta, "They want to talk to you as soon as you are ready but you need to make haste as your father is preparing coffee and your mother is preparing breakfast."

The two rushed downstairs to eat their breakfast, despite how their father disapproved of them waking up so late but the mother reassured them and the two enjoyed themselves. Once they were done, they ran outside and saw Gou, Haruka, Rin, and Izawa standing not far from the caverns.

"It is time," said Suiei Marotta.

"But I…" began Alex.

"Oh you can do it!" replied Rin, "You did enough practice and we're dying to see what your magic can do!"

"The time has come for you now, to learn how to fight with your powers. Apparently, our powers are limited so you'll have to show us your battle moves..." agreed Haruka.

"This is going to be exciting!" cheered Gou.

"I know, right?" asked Sergi.

"Unless if he blows up," muttered Izawa with a chuckle.

Alex took out his Suiei Necklace and feels the light glowing in a golden-white color. He took several steps back as the others stand with enough distance for him to concentrate.

Finally, he chanted, "Waters of travel...cast me up to the cliffside there!"

The waters swirled around as he teleported from the beach and up to the cliffs that led to the district. Seconds later, the boy reappeared back in front of them.

"Ah, the traveling spell," nodded Haruka, "A good one to begin with."

"Waters of the fist…go slam to that barrier!" chanted Alex as a gigantic fist of water was unleashed and smashed through a ton of rocks nearby.

"He has used some of the stronger ones," said Rin as he had a nervous sweat-drop.

"Water of the skies, send forth thy rain of peace!" said Alex as he raised his hands to the air and a gentle rain drizzled down around them. After a few moments he stopped and snapped his fingers which caused a massive tidal wave soaring towards them.

Sergi and Rin were shaken by the height of the waves but Alex snapped his fingers again and the waves stopped.

"Damn," said Rin, "Don't scare the shit like that…"

"An interesting spell," muttered Haruka, "To cast waves…how did I not think about that?"

Before anyone could answer, they all heard a loud squeal from the distance. They saw a fin coming up from the ocean ahead.

"Is that a dolphin?" asked Gou.

"Not just a dolphin…our kin!" replied Haruka.

A shark fin also appeared at the surface which stunned Rin as he realized that the animals were making their way to the shore. Rin's necklace began to glow alongside with Haruka's and Alex's.

"What's going on now?" asked Alex.

"They're here," said Haruka, "The Suiei Gods…"

Before their eyes, Suiei Matsuoka, Nanase, and Marotta appeared before them as they each carried something in their hands.

"Yo Rin!" smirked Suiei Matsuoka, "Kou!"

"Hey there Haru-chan," smiled Suiei Nanase.

"Ugh, you too now?" asked Haruka, "drop the –chan please?"

Nanase chuckled as the gods drifted down towards the group and handed them something.

"GET OUT!" smirked Rin as he looked at the Arabian Clothes, "YOU GOT THESE!?"

"What is that?" asked Alex.

"The clothes that we saw back in Phoenix!" replied Rin as his clothes shifted from his original to the Arabian Form.

"All of that and more," said Suiei Nanase, "These clothes are designed to adapt to your surroundings wherever you go. Never again will terrain, water, wind, or climate shall be your master."

"And yes, these were from the Middle East since we were over in that region of the world," answered Suiei Matsuoka as he turned to Gou and said, "Here's a set for you too…um, Kou?"

"SO PRETTY!" she squealed with joy, "Thank you very much!"

Alex turned to his Suiei God as he also presented him something. The boy gasped as he realized what these items were…

"These clothes are…" he said as his outfit transformed into the armor and cloth while a sword appeared by his side that replaced his original katana.

"Yes…they are the lost clothes from Alexander the Great," said Suiei Marotta, "But it CAN be modified to an Arabian form as well as transforming to whatever the environment you need to enter into. They were found in the ruins back in Greece."

"The others will have their clothes too and they will have the ability to have them shift different forms as well," explained Suiei Nanase, "These will be your uniforms when you go into battle; any jewelry will be modified into weapons or other tools so you don't have to worry about losing them."

Haruka took out his cutlass sword and looked at it; it was a fine, yet sturdy blade. Rin had a sword also and he checked his out.

"What about your sword, Alex?" asked Rin, eager to see what he has.

"About that…" said Suiei Marotta as he turned to Suiei Nanase, "He will explain about the weapon."

"Nanase has told me that you have worked hard to use the magic," said Suiei Nanase, "We have spoken to a friend of ours and he has made contract to an animal that you will be partnered with…Haruka has the dolphin, Rin has the shark…Rei has the butterfly, Nagisa with the penguin, Makoto with the orca…but you…you have an animal that's perhaps the most dangerous of them all."

"Most…dangerous?" asked Alex, feeling slightly nervous.

The gods turned to the ocean as the water swirled around, twisting and bending while growing taller and taller to the skies.

"What's going on!?" gasped Gou while her clothes transformed to her Arabian form.

"W-what is that!?" shouted Izawa.

The sea waters rose higher and higher until it exploded as a gigantic sea beast appeared before them.

"Um yeah…that's big," muttered Izawa.

"WHAT IS THAT THING!?" shouted Gou, stunned by the sight of the monster.

The waters flowed back into the ocean as they saw a gigantic beast with a long body, in monochromatic colors of blue as its dorsal side with white and gold on the ventral side...its wings were more like fins but it appeared to have them for modified flight in some shape or form...

"A…a Sea Dragon!?" gasped Alex.

Suiei Marotta nodded and answered, "Yes. One of the many kings of the seas…its legendary power can be used to attack from long range but this beast can travel across long distances through the ocean. This fellow here has slept for many eons of time…but now it is called to return to its true master."

"But…how am I…?" began Alex.

"A legendary prince should have a legendary steed, yes?" asked Marotta with a wink of his eye.

"I guess we can use it to return to Japan," said Haruka.

"Hopefully the government won't monitor this since we're not going to be on the airplanes," agreed Rin, "I wonder how the others will react?"

"Um…I'm pretty sure they'll pee their pants when they see this," said Izawa.

"Makoto will most likely faint," chuckled Haruka, "While Nagisa would be shocked or…OMG behavior."

"Yep, definitely," agreed Gou.

The Sea Dragon roared loudly and turned into swirls of energy and soared its way to Alex, transforming into a sword similar to the original Kopis Sword used by Alexander the Great but its design was modified to a dragon.

"This sword…I…I remembered this," said Alex.

"Yes…it is your Kopis Sword…but it has been upgraded to the dragon form…it has replaced or rather…fused your katana with this," answered Suiei Marotta.

Alex unsheathed the sword and it had a glowing blade of blue color for a moment before it showed the metallic blade shape with a curve towards the end.

"Quite a fancy sword," said Haruka.

"Long too but it's almost like the original Kopis Sword," agreed Rin.

Alex put the sword back and attached it to his belt on the side of his armor.

"Well then, when the time comes for you to leave, take the sword out and scream out 'Dragon Sea King' and this sword will resume its bestial form," explained Suiei Marotta.

"So I see that it's like a demon sword," said Izawa, "Ha! Well Hiroshi wouldn't sleep with this one!"

"It is almost time for you to return to Japan," said Suiei Matsuoka, "Once you get there we will all meet up and your powers will be given to you on full level like how it was in the Time Loop."

"Yeah thanks!" nodded Rin.

"Good to bring them back," agreed Haruka, "We will need the magic we can get."

"It is now time for us to depart," replied Suiei Nanase, "We will see you soon…and farewell!"

"I shall depart with them too, Alex," said Suiei Marotta, "My prince…you are now ready."

"But WAIT, I…" began Alex when Haruka rested his hand on Alex's shoulder.

"You'll be fine now," said Haruka, "We believe in you."

"Yeah, that's right!" agreed Gou, "We will fight off those bastards!"

Alex nodded with a smile for a moment and turned to his brother who was just absolutely stunned by the whole thing but he giggled a little.

Suddenly, there was a loud bang coming from the house. Alex gasped and rushed his way over along with the others not far behind.

"No!" gasped Alex as he recognized the suited people, "They're here!"

"Oh crap!" gasped Gou.

"We have to help them!" said Haruka, "The family!"

"Shit!" growled Rin as Alex charged up and unleashed a fury battle cry while slashing down the invaders.

"The Haus of the Heavens," muttered Haruka as he took out his sword and somehow managed to slash one down while Rin and Gou rushed inside the house with Alex.

"Let's just do this!" chanted Izawa as she unleashed Ezekiel, her silver heavenly sword.

Alex saw the parents walking towards the back by the pool area when he shouted them to wait.

"STOP!" shouted Alex, "WAIT!"

The mother turned to see him but her eyes shook in shock to see him all dressed up in some "get-up" outfit or something.

"What the hell has happened to you!?" gasped the mother.

"Honey, this isn't the time to freak out right now!" said the father.

"Brother!" shouted Sergi, "What's going on!? What were those guys!?"

"I'm only going to tell you guys this once…get yourselves out of here…go to the beach and head south…there are a series of caves that have a cache of food and supplies that will last you at least a month," explained the older brother.

"Oi! Alex!" shouted Izawa as she stepped into the room with the others which made the mother's mouth dropped open in shock.

"H-how…did you guys!?" asked the mother.

"Oh woops," blushed Izawa.

"Hello again," said Haruka, feeling a sweat-drop of nervousness.

"Hello," blushed Gou.

"I swear to god Sandro, you better explain yourself all of this later," said the mother.

"I promise you," said Alex, keeping himself firm, "That you will be alright. I won't let anyone I love for to die! You have to trust me mother!"

"Mother," said Sergi, "Please don't stress out like this! I believe in him! I may not understand his ways…but I trusted him and he kept his promise!"

"Sergi…" she sighed but smiled a little as she patted him on the head, "You're right…"

Alex led his parents and brother to the caverns where there were supplies for them to at least eat and wash themselves for a little while before they could go back to the house.

"Don't leave too much if you don't have to," began Alex.

"Oh brother!" replied Sergi as he began to tear up, "Please hurry back safely!"

"Before you go," said the father, "Is it just me or do you look like…?"

"Maybe," smiled Alex with a slight blush.

"Let's go then," said Haruka, "We don't have much time."

* * *

The group climbed up the stairs as they went to the Cliffside of the area that overlooked the beach. Alex stepped out in front of everyone as he withdrew out his sword and pointed it to the skies.

He chanted, "Sword of the Dragons…Sword of my Past…call out my beast within that will get us back to where we have to go...rise now...DRAGON SEA KING!"

The sword exploded into streams of water and light as they rapidly soared out to the sea, recreating the giant beast standing before them. The monster turned around and used its tail to make a platform for them to walk on.

"Ugh, do I have to?" asked Izawa, slightly annoyed.

"Don't be such a party pooper," said Gou as she pulled her over.

"I can't believe that this is real," muttered Alex, still stunned by the whole magic he used.

They walked up on the tail, heading to the back while still talking.

"I'm not such a fond of demons," replied Izawa.

"Look, I know you have your traveling abilities," said Alex, "But we'll need this beast here to get us back safely. Besides, we got the other animals as well, right?"

"I guess you can say that," nodded Rin, "My sharks…Haru with the dolphins…"

They all sat down by the wings and the neck, wondering how fast…or slow will the monster perform during the travel.

"You guys ready!?" smiled Alex.

"As I'll ever be," sighed Izawa.

"Let's go!" cheered Gou as she pointed out to the seas.

"Hell yeah!" replied Rin, "It's on!"

"ONWARD…TO JAPAN!" shouted Alex as the monster made a low growl and enters to the sea at first slowly, adapting its abilities to swim across the waters while they hang on.

After a couple of minutes or so, the monster growled again as Alex realized what it was going to do.

"HANG ON YOU GUYS!" said Alex, clinging on tighter, "HIGH SPEED AHEAD!"

They quickly took a together grip on the dragon as the beast began to move faster and faster…until suddenly, it was soaring across the seas like a speeding car.

"Woooohooooo!" shouted Gou.

_No, just no_, thought Izawa.

They being the journey across the pacific as the monster soared at high speeds across the ocean; its wings were glowing beautifully through the reflection of the sun.

* * *

**Back in Japan:**

Makoto sighed and sat down on the couch, "It's been a couple of days now…we haven't heard anything."

"I hope they're all okay," said Nitori.

"Sai!? Sai!? Has anyone seen Sai?" asked Nagisa as he called out the penguin's name, "SAI!?"

"I haven't seen Sai either," replied Makoto.

"I'm starting to get worried," added Rei, "I hope the Haus didn't find them…"

"I'm sure they'll be alright," said Mikoshiba as he walked outside to water some plants on the porch.

Nagisa sat down on the floor and moaned a little as he was too frighten to know what was happening between the others, Sai, and the Suiei Gods. Has something really happened?

Before anyone could talk, Makoto's necklace suddenly glowed.

"Huh?" asked Rei as his necklace was glowing too.

Mikoshiba walked inside to see what was happening, "Is something going on?"

"It's gotta be a sign," said Nitori, "I'm sure of it."

Makoto closed his eyes and listened to what the voices here…

"It's them…the Suiei Gods; can't you hear them, Nagisa?" asked Makoto.

"I do…it's Suiei Hazuki!" smiled the blonde, feeling a bit relieved.

"They're calling all of us to get to the bay," said Makoto as he got up and went out the door.

"Let's go out and see," nodded Rei.

Mikoshiba and Nitori decided to follow them as they headed down the hills and passed through the village. When they got to the beach area, they saw the penguin jumping up and down.

"SAI!?" gasped Nagisa with joy while hugging the penguin, "What happened to you!?"

"I don't see anything," said Nitori as he covered his forehead with his hand to block the sunlight glare.

Before they could ask, they all heard a low humming noise coming from the distance. It was barely audible but they could feel the loud intensity of this noise.

"Over there!" said Nagisa, "LOOK!"

In the distance that they can see...they saw a giant sea monster carrying Rin, Gou, Izawa, and Haruka...but...there was someone else with them…could it be?

"His outfit…" said Makoto, "It looks like that…"

"It can't be...is that our dear friend Alex!?" gasped Mikoshiba.

"Uwaaah! He's back!" smiled Naigsa, "They're all back!"

"Well that's a relief," nodded Rei as the sea dragon roared loudly in the distance.

In the skies, the Suiei Gods soared down from the clouds as they met up with them.

"Yo guys!" smiled Suiei Tachibana.

"We're back now!" shouted Matsuoka with a grin.

"Suiei…" replied Makoto, "All of you guys!"

"Hello there Rei," said Suiei Ryugazaki as he soared down to meet up with the megane.

"Where's Hazuki?" asked Rei.

"Right here!" smiled Suiei Hazuki as he hugged Nagisa, "I missed you babe!"

"We have all returned now, it's quite an entrance…" said Suiei Marotta.

Back on the Sea Dragon, Alex and Haruka chanted the traveling spell as they all teleported back to the beach while the monster roared again and takes on its sword form and landed back in Alex's hand.

"T-That monster…" gasped Makoto, "That's a weapon!?"

"Yeah, its bestial form is a Sea Dragon…" blushed Alex.

"So your animal is a Sea…Dragon?" asked Makoto, feeling slightly uneasy at first.

"Yeah…but…" said Alex before he dropped his sword and they all glomped together for a huge group hug.

"He's more spirited," smiled Rin as they all laughed and embraced this reunion together.

Mikoshiba hugged Gou tightly and said quietly, "I was so worried about you…but I knew you'd make it back safely."

"M-Mikoshiba…" blushed Gou but she hugs back and replied, "I miss you too."

Nitori saw Izawa nearby while throwing up from the seasickness. She turned to him and smiled, "Oh hey, cook boy."

"Izawa…" smiled Nitori as he was relieved to see her back but blushed as she threw up some more.

_Should I get her some medicine_, he thought.

Rin embraced a hug with Rei as the two made a brief kiss.

"Hey there, my sexy butterfly," smiled Rin quietly.

"Oh Rin," sighed Rei in relief, "You sexy shark teeth."

Makoto gasped on the clothes he got and asked, "Wh-What are these clothes?! Are they for us?!"

"Indeed," said Suiei Tachibana, "They are specialized for your upcoming battle…but also for everyday life if you wish."

"Whoa there," smiled Rei as he saw his outfit as Suiei Ryugazaki showed it to him, "How fancy is that!"

"Yeah, we were given these clothes before we returned here," said Rin as he showed off his outfit, "I got mines on here as a test. Looking great?"

"Anything looks…" blushed Rei before he whispered again, "sexy."

Rin laughed as they held hands together and joined up with the others.

"Haha!" smiled Nagisa as Suiei Hazuki got him dressed up in his Arabian clothes, "I got a lovely head piece here!"

"I got one too," said Rei as he pointed his hat

Alex took out his sword again to take a closer look at the design, saying, "These clothes and the sword was given to me from my Suiei…they were hidden in the ruins but modified of course."

"That's neat Alex-chan!" smiled Nagisa as he looked at the sword.

"I gotta say that you do look a lot like that prince from Macedonia…" blushed Makoto.

"Well…he and I are sort of…the same, in many ways," replied the foreigner as he put his sword back to its sheath.

"Well we got another battle on our hands soon," said Rin.

"It'll be a dangerous one," nodded Haruka, "Depending on what kind of technology and weapons they have in store that is."

"That is why," said Suiei Nanase as he and the other gods stood before the group, "We granted you all full access to your magic…like how it was before."

"Soooo that means you're staying with us longer?" asked Nagisa.

"Are you serious?" replied Suiei Hazuki, as he swirled around the blonde, almost laughing, "Of course we are silly!"

"We are here now," said Suiei Marotta, "But the hour will be here soon."

"Well you guys, we did a lot of prep work while you were out in the states," explained Makoto.

Rei smiled a little as he was happy to see everyone, even Alex to be back here. With their numbers up, there was hope that together that they can defeat their enemies again.

"Well there is still a few more things that we have to make sure of," added Rei, "So listen up."

"Yeah?" asked Rin.

"The tower that they're at…there's no way in," replied Rei.

"WHAT!?" gasped Rin, Haruka, and Alex.

"Unless of course it's the night of the full moon," said the megane while fixing his glasses.

"What kind of magic do they even have?" asked Haruka.

"I'm not exactly an expert on that…but it has to be dark…" replied Rei, "And our only opportunity is when the full moon is in the sky since light is reflected off of it from the sun."

"Strange…" muttered Alex.

"It does sound a bit odd," agreed Rin.

"We'll have time to prepare then?" asked Alex.

"Yep! Plenty," smiled the megane as he did the badass stare.

"We'll need to catch up on our magic though...it's been a long time since we had it this strong," said Makoto.

"Well you guys had a long rough journey, why don't we do a nice little celebration in success of your return?" asked Mikoshiba.

"Sounds fun!" smiled Gou.

"I guess we could…" said Rin.

"A swim would be nice…A POOL PARTY!" cheered Alex.

"YEAH!" replied Nagisa as he high fived with Alex.

Haruka's hands were shaking since he wanted to jump in but he had no idea which house they were going to go to.

"Hehehe, right on!" said Rei.

"Let's do it!" smiled Nitori as he, Nagisa, and Makoto began to walk back to the city.

"PARTY ROCK!" echoed Mikoshiba, "At my house!"

* * *

The gang joined up at Mikoshiba's house as Haruka jumped into the pool, tossing his clothes to the side with his bathing suit already on. Gou joined in with a cannon ball while Rin and Rei jumped in together.

"Hey wait for us!" shouted Nagisa as he and Makoto got in.

"I'm next bitches!" laughed Alex as he goes in.

"Yooo!" said Mikoshiba as he joined in.

"CANNONBALL!" shouted Nitori as he jumped in.

Nagisa, Rin, and Rei broke the surface followed by Haruka and Makoto while Alex floated on his back for a moment before turning around and seeing the five guys together. He swam up to them.

Nitori and Mikoshiba along with Gou were nearby as the splashed around.

"I…I'm happy to be back with you guys," said Alex.

Sai wobbled to the pool and plopped in and peeped some noises.

"So refreshing," smiled Nagisa, "And Sai!"

"You know, I like how our bathing suits represents parts of the rainbow," chuckled Makoto, "Green I have…"

"Purple…" muttered Haruka.

"Red," said Rin.

"I has a white…" sighed Alex, "But I guess I can be the prism that holds all the colors together…"

"Ugh are you guys seriously noticing that now?" asked Rei, slightly annoyed.

"Nah," replied Makoto, "We knew it but it was undeclared…we had to say it out loud…"

Rin and Alex started to laugh while Haruka just face-palmed to himself and Gou even shared a chuckle at the conversation. Mikoshiba swam up to Gou while making sure Rin was being distracted.

"It feels nice now, doesn't it?" asked Mikoshiba, "I'm happy to see that all is well with them."

"Yeah," agreed Gou, "They sure do look incredibly well now!"

Mikoshiba stared at her as he could feel his heart beating. He wanted to confess to her but he didn't know what to say.

_H-how…am I going to tell her_, he thought, _she-she's so beautiful…I…I can't even…?_

"You okay?" asked Gou.

Mikoshiba blushed a little while rubbing his head, replying, "Oh um…yeah?"

"You sure?" she replied, "You look a bit odd?"

Mikoshiba looked at her deeply in the eyes and reached out for her hand as the girl blushed while hugging her to his chest.

"G-Gou…" he whispered, "I…"

Gou was blushing but at the same time enjoying the soft yet strong structure of his skin with the muscles as she waited to hear what he was going to say.

"These feelings…" said Mikoshiba quietly, "I…I can't hide…I...I love you."

"Oh wow, wow, wow," sighed Gou as she staged an angry face, "Hold it right there Miko-kun!"

"I…I guess I was a fool for saying that," he muttered as he could feel the rejection about to hit him.

"I have something to say about that," she snapped as she pushed him away with a mad-kid face.

For a moment, Mikoshiba was about to feel so embarrassed when Gou smiled and jumped back to him, and said, "I love you too!"

"Oh my god, you scared the shit out of me," he replied but he laughed.

"Well you were too tense there," said Gou, "Had to lighten things up somehow."

"It's just I...I'm a bit sad...I go to a faraway university and I missed you terribly...I always wondered how you were doing back here at Iwatobi," he explained, "I don't know if you have decided where to go to college."

_Oh fuck it,_ she thought, _he's sooooo mine and I'm gonna tease him a bit more…he's so cute when he blushes. Whether nii-chan likes it or not, I'm gonna have fun!_

"Well I think it's obvious where I'll go," she answered.

"Congratulations again," he smiled as he holds her hands again.

"Honey, I meant far away from you," she added.

Mikoshiba almost felt the jump again but Gou snickered and said, "But I'd be kidding…right?"

The tall boy checked to make sure Rin wasn't noticing too much and continued, "Come on, let's find a place for ourselves."

"Um Miko-kun," she replied, "I'm a virgin…oh do you mean it that way? Well…what about my brother?"

_Oh shit,_ she thought, _Mikoshiba I love you but keep your d in your pants for a while._

Mikoshiba checked again and saw that Rei was flirting with Rin for a bit which kept the distraction going as he answered, "He's spending a lot of time with Rei…he'll be alright."

"Well if you're willing to deal with him then c'mon let's go," she smiled as she tugs on his arm and they got out of the pool.

Alex turned to see the two going off and said, "Well there they go…"

"I'm sure they're getting something to drink," shrugged Haruka.

"They're cute…" blushed Makoto.

"You think they're gonna have wild sex in there?" asked Nagisa as he made a nice pervy face.

"Um Nagisa…what the hell?" asked Rei.

"Just saying…" giggled the blonde.

Rin was like having a shit ton of feels going through him. Normally, he would be pissed and go after Mikoshiba since he was always worried sick about Gou…however, something was keeping him in place…was it Rei? Or was it something else…?

His face was beginning to blush as he wasn't so sure what to react.

_Shit, shit, shiiiiit_, he thought.

Rei started to laugh as Nagisa continued, "Well think of it this way Rin-chan, Gou will have pretty kids!"

"Uhhhhhh…" replied Rin, his eyes tick-tocking back and forth from the house to the group, "As much as I would go after them…would they even try?"

"Seriously Nagi-chan," sighed Makoto, "You had to add more pressure to Rin? That's enough."

Alex, Haruka, and Rei could only make a nervous smile in response.

"Here Rin," said Rei as he gave the red-hair a kiss on the lips to distract his mind for a bit.

* * *

Mikoshiba led Gou to his bedroom as they were both giggling a little to themselves. The room had several boxes of his dorm-related materials when he was away in college.

Gou jumped onto his bed and falls backwards and was already feeling the comfort.

"Our safe haven…" said Mikoshiba.

"Well a comfy bed hell yes!" smiled Gou, "And no other boys to disturb us…hehehe! Come over here, Miko-chan!"

Mikoshiba walked up to her and lied down next to her as they stared into each other's eyes. They both blushed a little but they could only chuckle and enjoy each other's company.

"So what do you got in mind?" he asked.

"Oh nothing much…I was just thinking that maybeeee I could practice some stuff Serah taught me," she answered.

"Oh, Serah taught you some stuff?" he replied.

"Ayup!" she nodded, "aaand you'll get to help me with practicing!"

"Well then," said Mikoshiba, "I can't wait to see how it turns out."

"Oh reaaaallly?" asked Gou as she playfully sits up and suddenly pins Mikoshiba to bed with her body, "Because I'm a beginner here, have patience please."

He looked at her beautiful red eyes and replied, "I'm ready when you are."

Gou softly plants a kiss on Mikoshiba's lips and then takes her lips away to press their foreheads together as she replied, "I love you...Miko-kun."

Before he could reply, she plants another soft kiss before gathering enough courage to go ahead and lick his lips. He could feel her lips connecting to his as they felt their tongues touching and moistening each other, holding it for almost a minute.

They finally took a breath as he answered, "I love you too Gou."

She felt a bit surprised but eventually calms down and goes on to probe Mikoshiba's mouth again, careful not to make their teeth clash; this kiss wasn't as long compared to the first one.

In the end she backed away for air and grinned shyly, asking, "Grade?"

_I just want to say she's sooooo amazing_, he thought, _but I better tell her a 'grade'…_

"A+," he smiled, "For real…that was amazing!"

Gou blushed red as a tomato but she squealed with joy, "Yayz!"

Before he could react, she rested her head on Mikoshiba's chest as she could feel the softness, yet the strong, stabilized muscles on his body. Mikoshiba could feel a bit hardened but he called his body to relax a little as he said, "You're really beautiful…may I reply with a kiss?"

Gou raised her head up and answered, "U-umm…yeah, s-sure!"

He moved up to her face with a nice brief kiss before implanting a deeper one as they held another moment of love. Gou was becoming a bit hazed as she was like enjoying this moment.

"You want to stay…or go back?" he asked.

"I um…I think I….stay!" she answered.

_Oh god_, she thought, _I can't let my brother see me like this! It'll be embarrassing! Not to mention how he'll react on this!_

"Does your brother still worry about you?" asked Mikoshiba.

"Huh?" she asked, looking a bit confused, "I mean…he was always…um…protective…but then…"

Mikoshiba turned to his right for a moment before looking back at her, saying, "I…I remember."

"Remember what?" she asked.

"The past," he answered, "You weren't feeling well in the time loop; I remembered it too. Rin was really worried about you. I remember that we used to talk for a bit but then…"

Gou was a bit surprised as she realized that he knew her back in the Time Loop even though the events in that time trap was rather screwy with things.

"He did his best...didn't he?" asked Mikoshiba, feeling a bit sad.

"Miko…wait!" she replied, "Don't be sad…Rin did his best, yes…but…"

"I had no memories of it though when I first met Rin in this timeline," he explained, "Neither did Nitori. However… we learned it all when we were chosen to become Acacius and Erastos. After when Rin, Haruka, and Makoto left…that's when he came to us…that dog."

"Witch boy," she answered, "It must have been him. Now that you said that, it makes sense to why you were saying that back when you and Nitori followed Alex to the Iwatobi Auditorium, right?"

Mikoshiba nodded and said, "I didn't understand what was happening back then...but now I do. I don't want to lose anyone of you…even you, Gou…"

"Good! Because I don't want to see you sad okay?" she asked as she pressed her forehead against his with a smile of reassurance.

"Thank you," he nodded as he gave her a kiss on the cheek. She blushed but smiled.

"Let's head back," said Gou.

"Yeah, let's go," he agreed.

* * *

**_Due to the Holidays of Christmas and New Years on Wednesdays..._**

**_The remaining chapters of this book will be out on Mondays!_**

**_Water Next Time, _****_December 23, 2013_****_ and _****_December 30, 2013_****_ will be the "updates"._**

**_See you water then! :)_**


	8. Chapter 7: A Time of Passion

**_Chapter 7: 情熱の時間…_****_A Time of Passion_**

_Warning: Pairings occur in this chapter! (Makoto x Nagisa, Haruka x Alex, Nitori x Izawa)_

* * *

Mikoshiba and Gou returned to the pool outside as Nagisa was looking a bit disappointed.

"Oh hey you're back!" said Alex.

"They don't look tired at all," muttered the blonde as he dumped his head to the water in disappointment.

"Nagisa, you might drown," sighed Rei.

The penguin peep a few notes again while it splashed around.

"It was nothing, other than a talk," said Mikoshiba, trying to look innocent.

_Thank you Mikoshiba_, thought Rin as he asked through his mind to Suiei Matsuoka to see what the two were up to but it was nothing more than a talk and kiss, not to mention about how Mikoshiba and Nitori knew about the gods and the past.

"Well that's nice," said Rei as he turned to Nagisa.

The blonde lifted his head up and said, "Yeah…riiiiiight."

"Now, now, you can't always jump into conclusions," replied Makoto.

"Oh yes I can!" answered Nagisa.

Haruka, Alex, and Rin laughed while Makoto blushed with a sweat drop of a nervous smile.

"Oh so seriously," sighed Rei but he smirked a little.

"Uhhhhh, are you guys okay?" asked Mikoshiba, feeling a bit of a blush.

Before anyone could answer, Nitori walked to the pool while holding a basket of drinks, asking, "Has anyone seen Izawa?"

"Nope!" said Nagisa.

"Peeep!" beeped Sai as the penguin jumped out of the pool and wobbled around.

"She's most likely on a tree," muttered Nitori, "But where…?

"Not far off…with a mirror," said Rei.

"A mirror?" asked Nitori.

"Huh?" asked Nagisa.

"Oh just ask her about that someday," answered the megane.

"Well I'll be back, I'll go find her," said Nitori as he put the basket down as Sai peeped again.

"Good luck!" replied Gou.

Nitori grabbed his Sametsuka jacket and rushed out to the road while his swimsuit was beneath. He walked around a block or so but couldn't get much ground.

"Where did she go now?" he muttered quietly.

Meanwhile, Izawa was purposely hiding on a tree watching the approaching Nitori, she tried to go further up the tree but stepped on the wrong branch as it snapped and she fell down on her butt.

"Ouch!" she cried out.

Nitori turned around and saw her; he rushed up to her, asking, "Izawa! Are you okay!?"

"Owww….yeah, I'm fine…" she answered, "Sooo what'chu doing here cook boy?"

"Well we were having a pool party to celebrate on the success of the missions but you left again," he answered.

"Well I have my reasons," she sighed while blushing a little, "They're legit I dare say."

"Look. I may not be the same as you, but that doesn't mean that I cannot worry," said Nitori, ": it's just that I...I wished you could have fun...but fun for you is different than the rest of us. Isn't it?"

"No it's not!" she replied, "I mean…I have fun just like you guys do, no problem but...I…don't…"

"Then why do you keep staying away? You always go out on your own whenever we have our get together's," he answered.

Izawa looked to the side at first, feeling uncertain on what she's going to say but she looked back at Nitori and answered, "I don't want to hurt you."

"Hurt me?" he asked, "Look…I have faced pain and hurt back in the past…back when I was Erastos in the town called Athens. My brother, Acacius...he and I were the first to meet the Suiei Gods…little did we realize that our true father was nothing more than a deadly man who wanted them. I faced death after Acacius betrayed me…and Nikon."

"Nitori," she replied as she was looking a bit sadden but also upset (not at Nitori but at a different matter), "I know what death is and what I mean is...I'm not Serah, I can't just up and change souls when I go real hungry. I'm a monster here and I don't want to hurt the one guy that I actually like since... a long time...I don't want to lose you and much less kill you."

"I won't die," he said, "Not this time..."

"You don't know that!" she answered.

"I said I won't die," he answered, sounding a bit more serious, "neither will you...or anyone of our friends!"

Izawa's eyes widened as she was recalling on horrible memories back in her homeland with Serah and the others as she replied with a stern attitude, "You know who said that before everyone died on her?"

For a moment, Nitori's eyes widened as he remembered Gou telling him about Serah's life and the issues that she encountered.

"I…it can't be!" he gasped.

"Exactly!" she answered, "And I am not going to risk the man I love okay?"

Nitori fell to his knees as he was feeling a bit shaky on this; even though this other world and this world were separated. Somehow, he was even more worried. Could this other world invade this one? HE had to find out somehow.

"This world," he replied, "It's not the same as yours! As long as we stand united…Alex-chan once told me a story about Unity, Duty, and Destiny…how they are virtues of mankind in a strange world of his but he values them and he sees the world in that path…"

"Nitori…I," began Izawa but she was starting to cough up as she realized that her hunger levels were up.

"Izawa!" shouted Nitori.

"No!" she cried out, "N-Nitori…st-stay away!"

But the boy didn't listen…he closed his eyes and bit his thumb to let it bleed a little. Once he opened his eyes, they glowed Neon Blue.

"Erastos…hear me," muttered Nitori, "I possess no godly magic like the Suiei…but I can do this…allow my wish to be granted!"

"Oh shit," said Izawa as her eyes turned bright green

The spirit inside of Nitori, Erastos, opened his eyes as Nitori's body glowed a sky-blue color.

"Your wish shall be granted," said Erastos, "It's time…both I and Acacius and Nikon shall resume our roles at last! The hour of battle is near…between the gods and the Haus of the Heavens! We shall help our beloved Gods for battle!"

Nitori took a step forward to Izawa as he said, "You know what to do…"

"Ni-tor-ri…" she muttered as her eyes glowed brighter green. She grabbed the boy in roughly as she sniffed on his neck.

"I don't do cuts," she growled.

"Do what you have to do," he replied as he could feel her fangs on his neck.

* * *

**Back at the Party:**

Mikoshiba smiled and chuckled but stop as he felt his heartbeat hitting on this chest. He clutched his right hand to a fist and breathed heavily.

"M-Mikoshiba?!" gasped Alex.

Rin turned to see the former captain's eyes glowing bright yellow.

"Mi-Miko-kun!" gasped Gou.

"Oh what's going on with him?" asked Nagisa, a bit stunned by the glowing of the eyes.

"W-What the hell is this!?" asked Rin.

Finally, Mikoshiba spoke…but not in his voice, _"The day of war is near…the day of awkening…"_

"A-ACACIUS!?" gasped Rin.

"Something must be happening to Nitori," said Haruka, "If Acacius is taking on…the same must be said for Erastos."

"What the hell is going on?!" asked Rei.

Mikoshiba got out of the pool as his eye were still glowing as he stepped over to the fence befoe turning around to the others.

_"The day when the truth shall be revealed," _said Mikoshiba/Acacius, _"the time of awakening…"_

"I don't understand," said Makoto.

"What does he mean by 'day of awakening'?" asked Haruka.

"I don't like the sound of it," said Nagisa.

_"Suiei Gods…"_ said Mikoshiba/Acacius, _"You have done well…you broke the time paradox…you restored your souls back as one…but the day will come…when all will be said and realized…why we are as one. Your friend, Nitori, he is healing your guest from her thirst…so do not worry."_

"N-Nitori!" gapsed Gou, "Is he…?"

_"He is giving her a part of his blood,"_ replied Mikoshiba/Acacius, _"But Erastos is with him now…assisting him on the procedure. We shall be back to you all when we face off against the Haus of the Heavens. Until then, farewell…"_

The eyes stopped glowing as he slumped over and fell to his knees. Gou rushed up to him as she could feel her heart talking to her, realizing that it was Nikon talking.

"M-Miko?" she asked.

Mikoshiba coughed a little and looked up to see Gou and the others, "A-Acacius…didn't he?"

"The day of awakening…why we are as one?" asked Makoto.

"I really don't like the sound of that…" said Nagisa as he was already feeling miserable.

Makoto rested his hand on the blonde's shouder and said, "We can't think of this as a horrible thing…we have to keep our hopes together."

"I…it's just that…Hazuki…" began the blonde.

"It'll be fine, right?" asked Gou.

"As long as we believe," said Haruka.

"We'll triumph over this," replied Alex.

"Right," said Rei was he grins a bit.

"That's right," agreed Rin, "We will defeat the Haus and free the world from censorship! Perhaps that's what Acacius meant to say about that, 'when all will be realized'."

"That's a good point there," answered Makoto.

Sai peeped and jumped up and down as the other smirked and gained confidence to face off their enemy in a few days time.

* * *

_"The day will be here,"_ muttered Nitori/Erastos, _"When all will be realized…"_

Nitori closed his eyes as he could feel Izawa's fangs pressing through his neck as she began to drink. She starts to feel her body get less heavy as it gets fueled with energy.

She was blushing a bit as she felt the warm substance go down her throat, it had been a month of terrible thirst and this was all she needed... a link to the one guy that mattered most to her right now... and that's when she saw everything that had happened…

Her visions showed her the past as she saw the world being formed by the water, life flourishing across the planet, the rise of the Suiei Gods, the betrayal in Ancient Greece, the battle against the Swim-Cadet X and Deception MIA and Arogean…the bastard of the Time Loop.

_The boys…all of them_, thought Izawa, _so this is their story…huh?_

_I can feel that she's better, thank you…Erastos_, thought Nitori as he smiled to himself.

Her eyes grow wide as more memories pour into her head and finally she just calms down and finishes up her drink. She removes her fangs from Nitori's neck and licks healing the wound mark on his neck.

"Done," she answered, "You okay?"

Nitori's eyes stopped glowing as he closed his eye briefly to listen to Erastos's final instructions.

_Yes,_ he thought, _Erastos…we will reunite with the others on the day of the battle…_

We will, replied Erastos's mind to Nitori.

"N-Nitori?" asked Izawa, looking concerned.

"Y-yeah? What's up?" he replied.

"You're okay right? No anemia?" she asked, worried, "No headache?"

"I told you," he smiled, "I had help from Erastos…I asked him to protect me and he used his power to allow me to make sure you recovered safely."

"The gifts," she replied, "Erastos was the gift of healing…"

"Huh?" asked Nitori, "You…?"

"I saw all of that," she answered, "My ability is to see the memories of others when I feed. I saw your past life as Erastos and I got to see a perspective of the gods as well."

"Well, that's already complicated as it is…but you'll get used to it," he blushed.

"Oh trust me…it's not THAT complicated," she snickered.

"Perhaps but those guys went through a shit ton of pain..." he said, "We'll fight this battle coming up and we'll triumph."

"I'll give them that, but whatever is coming is nothing to you guys," replied Izawa, heading to the trees, "You won't mess up, I'm sure."

"You seem to like go up on trees, don't you?" asked Nitori.

"Well I have to," she answered, "It's sort of a way to travel without running into vlansors."

"Um…is it okay if I go up with you?" he asked.

"Sure…but you can climb trees?" asked Izawa.

"Well I used to as a kid before I started to swim but I guess now that…" began Nitori.

"I'll pull you up in any case," she smiled as she climbed up and extended her hand down to him, "You coming?"

"Y-yeah!" he replied as he reaches out to her.

Izawa laughs as she and Nitori climbed up to the branch. The vampire girl was blushing with a loving gaze at him but as they sat down, she sighed and smiled to see the entire city around her.

"Sooo now we're both up here," she muttered.

"Sugoi…" said Nitori, "You can see a lot around here…the towns!"

"Mostly," she nodded, "But just imagine if we were on a taller tree; we could perhaps see the way to the country border."

"It would be nice," he smiled as he reached out to her hand.

Izawa blushed heavily as she started to freak out mentally like a crazy shy girl.

_Oh my goddess oh my goddess what can I do_, she thought.

"Oh I'm sorry if you didn't expect this..." said Nitori as he began to move his hand away.

"No…I…uh, s-sorry, I just... I... Nitori!" she answered as she felt a bit unbalanced.

Nitori kept a grip on her and smiled, "I got you."

"Uh…I…um…Nitori…I…I like you," she blushed as she felt like she could run away but deep down, she hadn't felt this way in a long time.

"I like you too, Izawa," replied Nitori.

Izawa blushed completely red as she looks away embarrassed for a moment before giving him a quick kiss on the cheek, "R-Right…uh…Thanks!"

* * *

Back at Mikoshiba's place, the gang watched the sunset as time continued to fly by.

"Already sunset I see," sighed Mikoshiba, "Time flies way too fast."

"Yeah, I guess it has," agreed Alex as he went inside to grab his hoodie.

"Let's go inside," smiled Makoto, "We'll have another fun day."

"Yeah," yawned Nagisa as he held hands with Makoto.

Rin sat down on the swing chair with Gou and Rei as Haruka stood on the porch and staring out at the sunlight.

"Hey brother, you feeling alright?" asked Gou.

"Yeah…" he replied, "Just been a long trip and what not."

Rei put his hand around Rin's shoulders and pulled to him, saying, "We'll feel alrighty to rest here."

"I know," said Rin, "It's hard to believe how far we've come."

"Nah, not really," whispered Rei as he kissed Rin on the ear.

"Why not?" replied Rin, "You did a lot of research and other things while we were on the goose chase to find Alex."

"I don't think of my hacking skills as a project…it's just what I do…" smirked Rei.

Rin turned his head to Gou and asked, "Well how about you, sister?"

"It's been a whole lot, waaaay too much," she replied as she had a sweatdrop of nervousness.

"I guess people see things differently," muttered Rin.

Alex walked past the trio as he stood at the other end of the porch, looking over the twon, the sunset, and other scenery around. He rested his had over his heart as he thought about Sergi and the rest of his family waiting for him to get back.

"You alright, Alex?" asked Rin.

"Yeah I'm fine," he replied, while looking at his swrod, "Just a lot going on in my head…from what happened at least."

Nagisa walked back out briefly with Sai as he was looking for something that he left behind but he stopped as he saw Alex staring out to the city. A cool breeze gently struck all of them as their hair blew into the wind.

"Well looks like our friend has come a long way, huh?" asked Nagisa.

"Peeep! Peep!" replied Sai.

"You came and changed many things Alex-chan," smiled the blonde.

Alex turned to see the blonde and the penguin as he replied, "I…I didn't do that much…did I?"

"You seem to have the tendency to capture the heart of those you encounter…and bring them closer," replied Rin.

"I...um," blushed Alex.

Haruka arrived to the scene and said, "_Ask, and it shall be given; seek and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you._"

"Haru," sighed Rei, "Please don't talk in quotes that I don't get."

Nagisa laughed a little with a sweat-drop of nervousness.

"My grandmother told that to me…before she died," replied Haruka, "It was perhaps the last thing she ever told me. Mankind will continue to find answers on their own...that's what I am saying."

"I know what I must do," said Alex as they turned to see Makoto arriving at the porch.

"I got our room ready Nagisa," said Makoto."

"Alrighty then Mako-chan," smiled the blonde as he skipped his way over while Sai wobbled his way after.

"Have you found your answer, Alex?" asked Haruka.

Alex turned away as the wind blew across his hair while Rin turned to see his siter sleeping a little. The sunset was going further down and the skies were getting darker.

"We should probably get inside," said Rei as he took Rin's hand while Haruka woke Gou up and helped her inside. Alex followed the two as he wondered what the future would become.

* * *

Makoto and Nagisa walked to their room together while Sai wibbled not far behind.

"Such a long few days, hasn't it?" asked Makoto.

"Yep, soooo tiring," sighed Nagisa.

"I'm glad they have returned safely," said Makoto, as he sat down on his chair, "Even Alex."

Nagisa walked to the bed as he made a fake snore while forming a plan in his mind. Makoto took off his socks and tossed them to the side while turning back to the blonde on the bed.

_This time, you're mine_, thought Makoto, _You will feel me!_

"Oh Nagisa," muttered Makoto while looking over his partner, "You sound very adorable…almost as if I wanna…"

He carefully got his way closer to the blonde since he remembered the last time he tried to get the blonde, Nagisa pinned him down and toyed his entire body. But before he could prepare, the blonde smirked and kicked across Makoto's chest while chuckling.

The taller boy few across the room and hit on the walls on his back as he sighed, "Ouch…I had a feeling you were up to something…AGAIN!"

"Nuh-uh, Mako-chan, I'm sure you had to be reminded who's in control here," said Nagisa while he lays sexily on the bed with a wide evil grin.

"Oh but you look hungry…really hungry," smirked Makoto as he undressed his shirt, "I want to give you something to eat."

Nagisa raised an eyebrow as the taller boy tossed his shirt to the side and undressed his pants while the former replied, "Uh…Mako-chan…aren't you going a bit too fast"

"Fast I may be," he replied, carefully approaching him, "But we can make it last."

"If you're that eager for me then I guess all I can do is take the advantage, right?" winked Nagisa.

"Oh really?" asked Makoto as he swiftly climbed to him and touched his pants, "I know you're really hungry…"

"Oh am I?" asked the blonde as he pressed on his lips to Makoto for a kiss linger . Makoto held a kiss on Nagisa as they embraced each other's company while the blonde drags his hands across the chest and towards the lower half.

"You taste sweet," said Makoto.

"Well you're sweet yourself, Mako-chan," smiled Nagisa.

Makoto managed to pull off of Nagisa's shirt as he flirted his hands around the blonde's underwear.

"Oh you're just as cute as fuck," giggled Nagisa.

"Cute I may be," smirked Makoto as he brushed his hands around the Nagisa's pants.

"Have your fun now," warned the blonde, "I won't you get a freak from screaming later."

Makoto moved quickly as unzips the pants and pins Hazuki to the bed and starts his love by giving him a hickey on the neck while one of his hands goes into the underwear to harden the stick. He licked across Nagisa's chest as the blonde groans softly and takes his hands to Makoto's hair and tightens his grip on a small bunch of hair.

His hand managed to harden Nagisa's shaft while his own was beginning to solidify as well. Makoto managed to remove Nagisa's underwear and his own as they were both in the flesh. Nagisa snickered and unexpectedly puts his leg on Makoto's side and pushes him changing their postitions.

"I'm done here," grinned the blonde.

"Oh are you?" asked Maoto as he slide down beneath Nagisa and licked on his shaft before going inside.

Nagisa yelped surprisingly as he chuckles afterwards his body heating up and his heart racing.

"Y-Yes…" groaned Nagisa as he was already planning methods to get Makoto back to his bottom.

_Nah, you wanted this_, thought Makoto as he sucked further in, and damn, _he really tastes sweet down here…I'm so glad to finally do this!_

Nagisa lets out a string of soft pants and small moans while holding on to the bed sheets.

_No used to enjoy this_, growled Nagisa's thoughts, _I'll wreck him so hard!_

Makoto could feel the pressure in his mouth as the tube began to burst out. Nagisa laughed a bit as his face got a bit twisted with lust intents…he had no intention to let Makoto win.

"Done with that honey?" asked Nagisa while Makoto feels the fliud entering his mouth.

After a moment, he finally answered, "You think I'm that weak when it comes to this? I did change a little too you know after we broke the Time Loop."

He sides further down and managed to get back on top of Nagisa while dipping his fingers inside of the blonde's mouth. Nagisa had enough of this so he bites Makoto's fingers.

"Ouch!" growled Makoto, "Oh you're so lucky we got Rei as our treatment! Can't afford hospital bills..."

Nagisa pushed him upwards and was able to use his strength to get him off as he pinned Makoto back on the bed with a fiercer look on his face.

"Sorry but you're just looking for it," smirked Nagisa.

"Seriously though," replied Makoto, "How long will it take for you to get so bored of being on top?"

"Do I look like I want to be bottom to you?" pouted Nagisa angrily.

"When you bottomed me, there was something that I felt that I feel you should experience it also," replied Makoto as he got out off of the bed and took out to handkerchiefs with a smirk on his face.

"What the hell do you think you're doing Mako-chan?" growled Nagisa.

"Just put your hands together and close your eyes…" said Makoto, "And if you say no…I may not get too nice."

"OH? And if I try to say no to that?" asked Nagisa, "I don't think so Mako-chan, I'll just shake you off!"

"Trust me," he answered, "I want you to feel this also and enjoy it…I would never do something that would be deadly to us...or our friends."

Makoto walked up to the blonde carefully while Nagisa replied, "Don't! You! Dare!"

"Oh come on," sighed Makoto, "You teased me…fucked me, and gave me everything through that pleasure of yours…amd I forbidden to return the favor?"

Before the blonde could react, Makoto managed to wrap one of the handkerchiefs to his face, covering his eyes. Nagisa humped and cursed to himself as he vowed revenge for this.

"Be prepared to face the consquences Mako-chan," said Nagisa darkly.

"Just close your eyes and relax," said Makoto, while tying his hands to the bed with the other handkerchief, "I trusted you Nagisa…with all of my life and love."

Makoto got back on top as he licked around Nagisa's body while pressing himself at the entrance and holding around his precious blonde. After a moment or two, he slowly entered inside.

Nagisa bit his lower lip still a bit tad infuriated about the thing but slowly he's letting go of it all as his body begins to respond to Makoto's actions.

_He…he feels amazing_, thought Makoto as he further went inside.

The blonde bleeds his lower lip as he felt Makoto enter him and let's out a loud moan of pain.

"M-Ma-koto…I'm goina to…k-kill you!" he growled.

"Just hold on a bit more," he replied, "I love you Nagisa…at the right moment, you'll understand what I feel."

"D-dammit…Mak-ko-chan," he answered as his his brain gets scrambled and soo the pain goes away leaving space only for some unreasonable amout of pleasure.

Makoto gave him a deep kiss as he thrusted in further. If Nagisa could be saying a thousand pretty things right now, he would but his body wasn't working well, his brain was a mess and his vocal cords were compromised to moaning, yelping and even screaming. He wanted to hold on to something but his hadns were pretty tight

Makoto's eyes widened as he realized that his anger has turned into pleasure so he carefully removed the handkerchief and grabbed his hands.

"I…I'm here for you!" he said as he kissed Nagisa again and removed the other handkerchief, "You'll be alright…I promise you, I love you!"

_I know you want to be on top...but I wanted...to be the same...as you... can you at least understand me...now_, thought Makoto.

Makoto could feel the pressure rising inside of him while Nagisa wanted to get back at him but the only thing he could do was to held onto his back and dig his nails to bleed and scar and bite on his lower lip. At this point, Makoto didn't mind the blood as he just wanted to embrace Nagisa.

"AAAAAAAH!" groaned Makoto as he unleashed his spasm.

Nagisa squealed at the sensation and just freezes on his spot tasting blood in his mouth again probably from both himself and Makoto's. He exhales and unexpectedly comes too his body convulsing a bit before he regained his senses again.

"Idiot…" sighed Nagisa as he felt his own shaft exploding as well, "I can't believe this!"

Makoto lowered his head down as he rested to the side, feeling sad, "Nagisa? Just why? Why didn't you wanted to be bottom? I I wanted you to feel what I feel also…I wanted to be the same…as you."

This time, the blonde smiled in response to that cuteness and he said, "You didn't need to do any of this if you wanted me to understand or make me feel like you silly."

Nagisa gave him a cute kiss on the cheek and continued, "I feel it…all the time I am with you, my silly other half."

"T-thank you," blushed Makoto.

"But I guess that makes us even now," smirked Nagisa while giving him a gentle kick on the side.

"I guess I just have to wait for your retaliation…I won't be too surprised what you got on your mind," he answered.

"Oh you bet I do," said Nagisa, "I'll make you wait…and wait…and get scared of it."

He kissed him on the lips softly and answered, "And it'll be fun."

"Honestly, you don't scare me…I love you…" smiled Makoto.

"Peeeeep!" echoed a low-tone Sai as it was hiding behind a corner, feeling traumatized from what was going on.

"Ummmmm, shit!" gasped Nagisa, "Wait a second…wasn't Sai following us!? Uh oh…"

The two turned to see the little penguin hiding behind the corner as it peeped again.

"He'll be alright," smiled Makoto, "We'll make him happy again. Sai, come over here, we're alright now!"

"Yeah, come over here Sai!" said Nagisa, "Sorry you had to see that."

The penguin wobbled over and jumped onto the bed as he wobbled himself to them and peeped a few times.

"He's really adorable," smiled Makoto as the pengun cuddled over to sleep.

"Yeah," said Nagisa.

"Peep!" answered Sai.

The three fell asleep as the night time began in the villages.

* * *

In another room, Alex looked at the moonlight from his window, not being able to sleep. He had broken his promise to his brother about staying with him as he felt sad and worried on what would be the outcome of this mission.

"Brother…please look after the family until I returned," he muttered.

"How are you feeling?" asked Suiei Marotta as he appeared before him.

"My family," sighed Alex, "They'll be alright, I know they will. I made a promise."

_Thanks to you Haruka...I finally felt love...and passion for the first time... it was a feeling that I thought I would never obtain_, he thought. "You love him, don't you?" asked the god.

He nodded and replied, "I do. But I don't know…if it'll last. I'm scared. I'm really scared. We're not from the same countries. Haruka lived to be a swimmer…while I was once a swimmer but then…"

Suiei Marotta closed his eyes and stayed silent as he already knew what was going on the boy's mind.

"I gave up so I can help my brother…but now that he's okay…what do I do?" asked Alex.

"What you decide in the future is yours to decide," said Suiei Marotta.

* * *

Nearby, Haruka listened to Alex's thoughts out loud while Suiei Nanase drifted over to him.

"Aren't you angry or sad by this?" asked Nanase.

"This happened before," said Haruka, "When he thinks like that… back when he was washing himself, he was questioning his heart."

"I see," replied Nanase, "What will you do?"

* * *

"The truth is," said Alex, "I need someone who can help with my brother…if I fail to help him…or my parents. I moved out to California to start college but now that my brother is cured, I don't even know. I want to stay by my brother's side...because I promised that I would protect him."

"You have done well, he's proud of you," replied Marotta, "He'll understand on the decision you make."

"I want him…Haruka," he answered, "But I don't think he'll…oh I can only hope he can forgive me…"

Haruka waked into the room as Alex jumped to the side and turned to see him, "H-Haruka!?"

"I guess it's my fault for asking you," said Haruka.

"No please don't…" began Alex when Haruka hushed him with his fingers over his lips.

"I understand, your brother is important to you…" he replied.

"I…I'm worried that I'll never get to see you again…after all of this," said Alex as he looked down sadly.

"Your Suiei God is with ours now," replied Haruka as he wiped the tears off of the foreigner.

"I think it's time we move out of the way," muttered Marotta, "I feel something."

"Quite right," said Nanase as they drifted out of the room.

Alex took a few breaths to relax asnd stared into Haruka's eyes.

"You okay?" asked Haruka.

"I want it…I want to do it again," said Alex as he could feel his own shaft getting hard.

Haruka nodded and the two walked out of the room, heading outside for the pool. It was time to embrace again as they stripped off of their clothing.

* * *

Back at the Haus of the Heavens, Kouta sat in his office as he saw Miho and some guards walking in.

"So you've finally returned," said Kouta.

"Yes," she nodded, "The boy knows how to use his magic well."

"Well it doesn't matter now that they're back here," he replied, "They'll be attacking our base here soon. I'd normally kill you off but as for our contract, it would break…besides, we both need to benefit our needs."

"Even though…after all of what you have done" she asked.

"Yes," he replied as they both remembered back in the days when the two clans were still alive and active.

Miho remembered her days when she played musical instruments with four other precious friends of hers and they even were in a band together for their high school years. However, she had moved onto bathing suits for a bit before trying to make an attempt to getting into the government after studying law. But it failed and she ended upas a teacher as well as an agent for the Haus of the Heavens.

"The boy is back, but as I said, the plan is going through smoothly," said Kouta, "He is the key that will change and remake this world."

He got up and walked to the outside court as he watched over the city of Tokyo while she followed him out as well.

"It's only a matter of time," he muttered.

* * *

Back in the town, Izawa and Nitori watched the stars shining all over the night skies.

"So b-beau-ti-ful," muttered Nitori as he yawned.

"You sleepy?" asked Izawa.

"Yeah," he replied as he yawned again, "I don't want to leave you…"

Izawa turned away as she blushed and fiddled with her fingers and replied, "Um…do you have space for one more…um…at your place?"

"I guess I can try, how much room I need to make?" he asked.

"No much…I uh, a corner is enough for me," she muttered, "But um…if I could sleep…uh, close to you, I…uh?"

Her fingers somehow kept fiddling which caused her magic to run wild as they were on the tree one moment but the next moment, they were in Nitori's bedroom.

Nitori blinked his eyes twice before realizing that they ended up in his room as he was confused to how he got here. However, he decided to rest but the magic ran wild again as they reappeared back on the tree. Izawa gasped as Nitori was about to fall off so she grabbed him to safety and held onto him while blushing as she carried the boy in bridal style.

* * *

Haruka and Alex walked back out to the pool as they both had their bathing suits on. However, the former had other ideas but the latter had plans of revenge.

"O-outside?" asked Alex.

"Yeah, it's not too bad right now," said Haruka.

"But don't you think it's a bit cold?" he replied.

"Not as long as we keep ourselves in," answered Haruka

They both jumped in and laugh as Alex said, "I'm gonna get you now!"

"Oh you think?" asked Haruka as he was swift enough to sneak around and grabbed his butt again as the foreigner jumped and splashed.

"Oi!" he gasped, "You did that twice now!"

"Oh it's on," said Haruka as the two took themselves to the edge of the shallow end of the pool and looked deep into each other's eyes.

"We should keep ourselves quiet though," said Alex quietly as they both moved in for a deep kiss.

* * *

Back inside, Izawa softly kicked the door pen and goes inside carrying Nitori as she muttered, "Um… I think the room that smells more like him is here somewhere..."

Nitori was still sleeping peacefully while Izawa blushed as she heard something from the outside.

_Oh, they're making out_, she thought, _outside? And I think the blonde and green-eyes are making out too?_

She rested Nitori on the bed and opened the sheets and smiled to herself. She was tempted to lay in bed next to him but she was feeling her heart increasing the beats.

_He won't mind…right_, she thought as she cuddled to Nitori and blushed. She wondered what he was dreaming about as she heard some passionate noises going on from the outside in another room.

* * *

Haruka pinned Alex down as he moved in for another kiss while drifting his hands to his bating suit, reaching for the good stuff. Alex vowed to himself that he would try to get Haurka back at the right moment.

As soon as the swimmer touched his shaft, Alex swiftly ducked into the waters and grabbed Haruka behind while hugging him tight with his strength. Haruka was a bit surprirsed and blushed a little.

"You know, the last time…you took me in hard…now I want you to feel it too," smirked Alex as he dipped his fingers into Haruka's mouth.

_Damn_, thought Haruka,_ I so wasn't ready for this._

Alex removed his fingers and his hands flirted around Haruka's chest and abs as he smirked and said, "You feel this?"

Haruka groaned a little as his hands were exploring all around; it felt good but a bit awkward at the same time.

* * *

Izawa stared at nNItori as she was not feeling that sleepy. She turned her head to make sure no one is around or nearby as she blushed.

_He, he's asleep, right_, thought Izawa as she climbed on top of him and lowers her face to peck a kiss softly on Nitori's lips. At the same moment, his shaft spang up as she felt his tip touching her at the midriff.

"P-PERVERT!" she squeaked in shocked as her face turned red. She finally had enough as she shook him awake, "Oi! Hentai! Wake up!"

Nitori woke up felt shaky as Izawa moved to the side. He felt his shaft hardened as he realized how close Izawa was to him. The girl pouted a little but smirked at the same time.

"You're really a pervy pervert, huh, cook boy?" she asked.

"I guess I am…but you already knew that I am sure…well," he replied as he blushed and thought back about when Mikoshiba took him and and made out.

"Even…even so you…um…well, I'm gonna go sleep now, so good night!" she replied as she got up and was about to leave when Nitori grabbed her hand.

Izawa blushed as she turned her head bak to Nitori as he replied, "Even after what I've done to help you. Why? This is how you're gonna keep on doing?"

"I…I don't want to go away," she blushed.

"Then don't," he ansered, "I'm here for you."

"C-Can't you read the atmosphere that I'm embarrassed!" she snapped.

* * *

Haruka groaned as he could feel Alex's hands going all over his body, from his face to his shaft. He wa actually enjoying this but he blushed at the same time.

_He's really that good_, thought Haruka as he turned to kiss Alex.

Once they took a breath, the other boy said, "I want to do this again…with you…but I want us to feel it together."

"You're sure about that?" asked Haruka as he peeled off Alex's bathing suit.

"Yes," he replied, as he removed Haruka's suit and they tossed it out of of the pool, "I love you Haruka…I need you…I need to feel this again."

"I l-love you too," replied Haruka as they both shared another kiss. Haruka pinned him down and gave a hickey on the boy's neck while licking his way down.

_It's just like the last time_, thought Alex, _but it's stronger now…now that we are…_

"You're much stronger and stunning…than the last time," said Haruka as he trobbed his hand over his shaft.

"I made sure to eat and stay strong…so I could…oh!" he replied when Haruka began to taste his stick as the other boy groaned.

_Damnit_, thought Alex, _I talk too much…but he's gonna get it this time._

_Damn, you're really more…romantic_, thought Haruka.

* * *

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about, it's only you and I," said Nitori.

"Um cook boy, that's really not helping," blushed Izawa.

"You're very strong and beautiful," smiled Nitori.

"OH HOW AM I NOT SUPPOSED TO BLUSH AT THAT!?" gasped Izawa.

"I-I guess I feel guilty for saying that," sighed Nitori.

"Oh no! Please don't' feel that way," she replied, "I…I like it."

Nitori nodded as he removed his Sametsuka jacket as Izawa's nose began to bleed after seeing his torso.

"W-what are you?!" she began.

"Oh," he answered, "I forgot to get dressed properly before I left to find you. So much for being in a hurry."

The moonlight shined through the window as his body shimmered before Izawa's eyes.

"D-Did you even shower today?" asked Izawa while she turned her head with blood coming out of her nose.

"I guess I'll do it now," said Nitori as he walked out of the room and headed down to the basement.

"O-Okay, I...I'll wait he-here," she answered as she heard Nitori going downstairs.

* * *

Nitori walked into the shower room as he dropped his bathing suit to the side and turned on the knobs. He closed his eyes as the warm water was hitting on his hair and down to his body.

_I thought I heard something outside_, he thought as he took out some shampoo to scrub and wash his hair.

Back upstairs, Izawa pressed her head against the pillow as she was freaking out to herself. She was like having a strange mood going on that she haven't had in a long time.

"Why is he so…wait," she muttered, "He's taking a shower!"

She got out of the bed and tiptoed her way across the halls as she heard some groanings outside between Haruka and Alex but her focus was on cook boy. Izawa got down the stairs to the bathroom and finally took a peak inside as she saw Nitori washing up as he took some soap to rinse out the chlorine from the pool.

_OH MY GAWD,_ she thought, _he's…he's hawt and so cute!_

She tried to peak at a better view but she ends up falling and landed on her back as she yelped, "Owww!"

Nitori gasped as he looked around but the steam was blocking his view for a moment. He sat down to hide his exposure while Izawa stood in shock.

"Is…is someone here?" asked Nitori as he carefully turned his head.

He saw Izawa frozen in place but Nitori sighed in relief and said, "Oh, it's just you."

"Y-yeah, it's me…hahaha…I um…I can uh…explain," she began.

"You don't have to," he answered as he stood back up but didn't turn himself around yet.

"I-uh…in that case maybe I sh-should…um?" began Izawa.

* * *

Back outside, the tsundere and the foreigner were at with each other. Alex managed to taste Haurka finally as he was stunned at how the pressure was feeling inside his mouth. Haruka groaned as he rubbed his hand across Alex's hair.

"I…I can't belive I'm finally doing this…and dammit, he's really good, thought Alex.

"Aaahaaaaa," moaned Haruka.

Alex released himself and moved back to Haruka's face for another kiss as they continued to embrace each other's company.

"I can feel this now," said Alex, "You thought about me…didn't you?"

"I…uh, how did you…? Oh that's right," replied Haruka, "You can feel those thoughts and emotions."

He nodded and answered, while gripping on Haruka's shaft, "Yes and I now that you do this at night sometimes…"

"Oh you're right I did," smirked Haruka as he took his partner to flip around and dipped his finger inside the other end of his tunnel and said, "and now I want you to feel this!"

Alex gasped as he could feel Haruka digging inside while the latter put a second finger in which caused the foreigner to groan loudly.

"Aaaah…oh…H-haru…" moaned Alex, "Damn…that was…"

He withdrew his fingers and replied, "I know you were feeling the same also."

"It's beause of you…I was finally able to feel love…and passion…for the first time," said Alex as he turned back to Haruka and looked him in the eyes, "But now…I'm going to do this…"

He pinned Haruka down and continued, "I'm going to go in."

Haruka nodded as he replied, "I'll be sure to give something back at you later."

"Then I will look forward to that," smirked the foreigner as he pushed inside.

* * *

"I-Izawa…" said Nitori, "I…I love you."

"Y-you what?" blinked Izawa as she could feel his arousal.

Nitori walked up to her and reached out for her hands while the girl continued, "C-could you say that again?"

"I love you Izawa," he replied, "I...I need you!"

Izawa blushed and smiled while letting out giggles. She doesn't quite know what to do anymore, how long had it been since she heard such words anyway?

"Please Izawa, just stay with me," said Nitori, "I need you!"

Izawa stared at his body awkwardly as if she never seen a naked guy before. She knew that this was all going to go down here.

"Umm…maybe it's too soon but," she replied, "Wild, crazy shower sex?"

Nitori nodded as he smiled with a blush as he walked up to her for a kiss but she put her finger over Nitori's lips.

"Wait a sec," she replied as she lowered her sundress zipper which came off easily with her panties and bra being displayed, "Don't want to get these clothes wet."

"I-I understand," he answered.

"Well uh, this is gonna sound awkward," said Izawa, "But do you want to…uh, get these off or should I…?"

Nitori took his shaky hands but he manged to help her remove her bra as his heart was beating loudly and his shaft feeling stiff. The two shared a kiss as Nitori coud feel her breasts and his chest pushing together. He took a breath as Nitori managed to remove her panties.

Izawa blushed as Nitori licked across her neck and move down to taste her nipple. The girl let out a cute moan and mewed away.

"Ngggh…aaah…N-nito-r-iii," she moaned as she raised up her leg a bit to brush her gate towards his shaft.

"I-Izawa," he replied passionately as he gave her another kiss while one of his hands touched her good spot by the gates as she moaned a bit louder. A shock ran down her spine as her mind was not exactly clear but it didn't matter because she could feel cloud nine and it was getting better and more pleasure.

"Ni…w-what are you?" she began.

Nitori removes his hand from the spot as he replied, "C-can…you…t-tast-ste me?"

"Huh?" she asked.

He gently touched her cheek and tilted her hand down to his shaft and said, "I…I can't…hold back."

"Oh…uh…y-you want me to taste you..like this?" she asked as she got down to her knees and licked on the tip at first.

"Aaaaah….y-yeeaaaah…." he replied.

Izawa took it in and tasted him, feeling the pressure going on but she could hear Nitori moaning as he was feeling her.

"Aaaaah….aaaahAAAAH!" moaned Nitori.

Haruka groaned loudly as Alex grunted a little while entering inside. The tsundere wrapped his arms around the foreigner tightly.

_Well this is what I get from taking him_, thought Haruka.

The two shared another deep kiss for a moment as their chests pressed on each other. Haruka was stunned at the strength that this foreigner had while he continued to sway back and forth.

"Aaaaaahhhh..aAAAH!" groaned Haruka, "I…ii….ooooh."

"I…I love you Haru," said Alex.

"I…aaaah…l-love you toooo..aaaaaaah!" replied Haruka as they were both approaching the climax.

_Dammit, I can't hold it any more_, thought the boy as he groaned, "Aaaaaah…H-Harukaaaaah!"

"Oh...aaah…Alexaaaaah!" replied Haruka as they shoved another kiss and climaxed each other.

They took several breaths to relax a little as they looked into each other's eyes. Haruka casted the traveling spell as they both reappeared in the bed but were still going at with each other.

"I guess the fun is only the beginning," said Alex as he closed his eyes.

"Oh I'm not done just yet," replied Haurka as the two clinged onto each other.

* * *

Back in the shower, Izawa continued to taste Nitori as the altter groaned in pleasure.

"Iz-izawaaaa…I-I don't know how much l-lllonger I can hold it," he moaned.

Izawa turned her head up and got back on her feet.

"I…I need to feel this," he said as his shaft brushed at her gate while looking at her shiny eyes.

"Sorry if I bite," she replied.

"Oh don't worry about it," he answered as he began to enter inside of her.

Izawa held onto Nitori, hugging him as the pain was going through her body. She held her moans and noises inside of her while Nitori kissed her deeply. Izawa's eyes began to tear up and Nitori stopped.

"Does it hurt too much?" he asked, "Please let me know and I'll stop."

"No…it's okay, I can bear it," she replied with a small smile.

Nitori nodded as he swayed a bit faster, "aaaa…Iz-Izawaaaaa…"

She let out a string of moans and mews all getting louder and more atune with ecstasy than pain as she answered, "N-Nit-oorriiii…"

Her body was sending warning shocks she stops having control over her own strength and so digs her nails deep inside Nitori's back her head rolling back. The two were approaching their climax as they both moaned and could feel the intensity of this passion.

Izawa blanked out as she reached her climax, it felt like she was in heaven, and boy did she know how being in heaven felt like. As she slowly came back her body was numb and she lost all strength. Oh... so that's why she hadn't done this in a long time

Nitori climaxed aolso as his spasm unleashed while filling inside of her while his body was filled with heat and energy due to the intensity of the passion going on. Izawa was dead tired so Nitori turned off the shower and took her back up stairs just like how she carried him before and the two got into bed safely.

It was quite a night for several lovebirds to encounter…but the road only predicts danger ahead…


	9. Chapter 8: Mission Start

**_Chapter 8: ミッションスタート _****_Mission Start…_**

Haruka woke up and saw Alex sleeping on top of him. They were both still exposed after having their time together last night.

"You sure rest quite nicely," muttered Haruka as he brushed his hand through the boy's hair.

Alex woke up with a yawn and replied, "M-morning…aah…what a night that was."

"Yeah," answered Haruka as he turned his head to see the sunlight from the window, "I gotta say that the sunrise is looking quite nicely."

Alex got off of Haruka but realized that their clothes weren't in the room. The foreigner used his traveling spell to find the clothes and returned back while Haruka was partly dressed.

"Tomorrow…" muttered Haruka, "Will be that day."

"I just hope my family will be okay for a while longer…" sighed Alex as he brushed his hair. Once they were ready, they held hands together as they sat outside on the porch.

* * *

Nitori woke up and saw the sunlight also as he sawed Izawa sleeping peacefully. The girl mumbled in her sleep and said something about onigiri and blood wine and rolls closer to Nitori searching for warmth. Nitori smiled to himself as he cuddled with her.

Izawa finally opened her eyes and muttered, "N-nit-ori…"

"Morning Izawa, did you sleep well?" he asked.

Izawa blushed red as she remembered what happened last night and all of that as she replied, "Y-yes!"

"I'll get some breakfast started," he replied as he got out of bed and quickly dressed himself while Izawa felt embarrassed so she hid bbeneath the sheets.

He walked to the kitchen to start up some eggs, bacon, pancakes and some fresh fruit while Mikoshiba walked in, yawning to hear the commotion.

"I see you're up early," yawned Mikoshiba.

"Oh hey Miko-kun," said Nitori.

Mikoshiba noticed that Nitori's skin was shiny just like how when Rei observed Alex's body when Haruka took him in for the first time. But he shook his head and focused on what was going on now.

"I'm making a ton of breakfast for all of us, so if you want to wait that's fine or…" began Nitori.

"Oh I saw Alex and Haruka outside, they're by the porch," he replied.

"Oh?" asked Nitori.

"I'm guessing they're just watching the sunrise," said Mikoshiba as he sat down at the table and rested his head down for a moment or two.

The aroma slowly woke up everyone as the others made their way to the kitchen.

"I smell food and it has summoned me…" began Rei.

"Us," replied Gou.

"It smells tasty too!" yawned Rin.

"Peep! Peeep!" chirped Sai.

Makoto walked in with Nagisa while the penguin wobbled its way across the room.

"I guess the more food Ni-chan makes, the faster we wake up," said Makoto.

"All of us…" agreed Nagisa.

"But where's Alex and Haru-chan?" asked Makoto.

"Oh they're outside by the porch, just talking around," replied Mikoshiba as he lifted his head up.

"Oh the aroma will get them," smirked Nitori.

They turned to see Izawa in some casual clothes from Nitori's closet as she skipped her way to the kitchen, "Moooorning!"

"Oh hey!" smiled Nitori, "I'm glad you're aright."

Nitori and Mikoshiba placed the food on the table as Nitori explained, "Here we got some hashbrowns, pancakes, fruit, omelets and breakfast burritos."

Alex and Haruka walked in as they were stunned by the food also.

"Wow…this breakfast really smells nice," said Alex.

"Hey there!" replied Nitori, "I'm glad to see you two alright as well."

"I'm glad to see you didn't kill each other after those wild animal noises you were making," muttered Izawa in a barely audible tone.

Haruka and Alex sat down along with Gou, Makoto, and Nagisa while Rin and Rei sat next to each other.

"Yeah! Let's get eating!" smiled Gou.

"Yeeep!" giggled Nagisa.

"PEEEP!" chirped Sai.

* * *

After breakfast, some of them sat down at the porch to watch the sunlight while others went to the backyard to clean up the mess. Makoto and Nagisa picked up a few cans and put them in the trash while Makoto looked up at the skies and smiled.

"Nagisa, I feel like that today will be nice…at least for today," he said.

"I think somethings gonna happen though," replied the blonde.

"Peep?" chirped the penguin.

"Well tomorrow for sure…the battle draws closer," sighed Makoto.

"No seriously, anytime now," replied Nagisa, "Something can happen!"

"We can't think like that," answered Makoto as he rested his hand on Nagisa's shoulder, "I mean...I guess whatever happens, happens...but...I just hope..."

"That nothing explodes too bad?" asked Nagisa.

"That…but something else," replied Makoto.

"That we... get married?" asked the blonde.

Makoto looked down at his love and smiled back, saying, "You mean it?"

But the blonde snickered evilly and said, "Sorry, did I make you believe that?"

Makoto held his hand and replied, "Even still…I won't leave you no matter what happens."

Nagisa blushed but answered, "Y-yeah well you better mean that!"

* * *

At the front of the house, Rin and Rei lied down on the grass as their neighborhood was quiet as usual. Rin stared at the remaining part of the sunrise before the skies turned blue.

"So then…Rei, what do you think?" asked Rin.

"About what?" replied Rei.

"The whole thing…I mean," began Rin, "We were born as nature…reborn as human, or so we thought and now we are real human…but I'm worried about tomorrow."

"Rin?" asked Rei.

"I'm not worried about the battle but rather the outcome if it," he answered.

"Well, I guess it's safe to say that whatever happens after the fight...we will win and the world will be safe," replied the megane, "So let's just think of it all as the greater good and eat our burritos."

Rin laughed as he split his in half and said, "You want my half? It's different than the one you have."

Rei took a bite out of the burrito while Rin smiled and watched him swallow the food. Once Rei was done, the red-hair moved in for a kiss on the cheek.

The megane blushed and replied, "I- I love you Rin."

"I love you too Rei," said Rin as he moved into the megane's face for a deep kiss on the lips.

The two flirted around as Rei feels happy to be in love with this red-head. It was quite a journey for the two especially how the megane finally got a senpai even though it wasn't Haruka. However, little did they know that something wrong was on its way…

* * *

Below the main office of the Tokyo Governor, Kouta walked down through a series of stairs to a massive chamber below. He entered through the side gate and saw the tree standing there just as he planned it out.

_This tree_, he thought, _it has associated with the gods and them…_

"Tell me what miracles you've done in the time loop…" said Kouta, "Especially with the Suiei Gods."

"I cannot be permitted to tell you," replied the tree, "You are as foul as the scars of the earth."

"You tell me what you have done…or else I shall drain your powers like how I will to the gods," replied the governor.

The tree remained silent as the villain continued, "I have brought you here in terms of my plan…you are the seed of life that provides the ulitimate miracle that its power can be used only once in eons…a miracle so strong that it can alter the world's timeline."

But the tree refused to answer as Kouta replied, "Then I guess you have left me with no choice…right…Tulisea?"

Tulisea floated her way down as she arrived at the scene.

"Your powers have changed after the boys have destroyed the loop. I assume that those powers you have now can perhaps be useful for…torture?" asked Kouta.

"I cannot predict the outcome of this," she replied, "For once I too, was a servant of Arogean but then now in this world…I became a sapient entity…born for revenge."

"You will do just as fine," he answered, "I have sent the guards to capture ama-chan in order to fulfil the plan."

Tulisea nodded as she turned to the tree. She reached out her hands as she casted a dark magical spell to the tree, causing its roots to scream as the room began to shake.

* * *

Rei gasped as he clutched his fist to his heart; something was screaming inside his head as his body was shaking. The megane stood up on his feet and looked out to the skies.

"R-Rei!?" gasped Rin, standing up, "Wh-what's the matter?"

"What... no... I don't... something's wrong..." said Rei as his face teared up a little.

"REI!? REI!?" shouted Rin.

Before the megane could answer, a violent earthquake struck the city, knocking them off of their feet. The tremors could be felt all over.

"W-what's going on!?" shouted Rin.

* * *

"E-earthquake!" shouted Makoto as he grabbed onto Nagisa

"I told you!" said Nagisa while Sai peeped loudly and held onto the blonde's leg.

Nearby, Haruka almost feel over until Alex grabbed his hand to safety. The area was shaking pretty badly as cracks formed nearby and the ground shifted a little.

Mikoshiba saw Gou about to fall over as he too grabbed her to safety, asking, "Are you okay!?"

Gou nodded as she felt a bit terrified by the sudden shake of the earth.

After a few more moments, the quake finally stopped as some fires broke out and sirens went off.

"Something bad…" said Rei as tears rolled down his face, "Something bad is happening and it hurts!"

"Matsuoka!" shouted Rin, "I summon thee!"

The Suiei Gods appeared before him while the red-hair asked Rei, "What do you know Rei? Can you feel something?"

"We are here now, young master," said Suiei Matsuoka.

"I…I don't know…it's frustrating…" sighed Rei as he wipes his tears.

Rin turned his head to the others and shouted, "You guys okay!?"

"Yeah we're fine!" replied Mikoshiba.

"Izawa!? You okay?" shouted Nitori.

"I…I don't like this," she replied, "There's nerco and neutral energy everywhere…and those two don't mix."

"Do you sense anything strange out of this?" asked Nitori.

"I…I do…but," began Izawa when she ran off to the front porch and saw Rei and Rin along with Mikoshiba and Gou standing nearby. Alex, Haruka, Makoto and Nagisa followed right behind them as they saw Rei freaking out a little.

"Rei, we'll be okay, I know we will," said Rin.

Izawa stood nearby as she closed her eyes to follow the trace of energy and gasped at the result that she found.

"Rin, this…whatever is going on…it's not a good sign," said Rei as he sniffed to calm down.

"Look," replied Rin, "I don't like it either but…"

"That's it?!" gasped Izawa, "This is just like back home! The energy that is coming from…it's a TREE! A Sakura Tree!"

Haruka, Nagisa, Makoto, and Rin gasped in shocked while Rei's eyes widened as he realized what she was talking about.

"NO!" shouted Rei.

"That tree…" began Makoto.

"The Tree of Sametsuka!" finished Rin, narrowing his eyes, "The Tree back in the time loop! But how? Why did it end up not…"

"I don't even…what?" asked Gou, confused.

Rin turned to his sister and replied, "Do you remember that vial I gave to you? The tree made it with its flowers and its fruits. I was told to hang onto it for you until you got sick again…its purpose was to help you recover."

"I remember now," said Haruka, "it was that night when we tried to infiltrate Sametsuka…and Arogean was there.

"But if it's not at Sametsuka," replied Rin, "Where would it be now? I thought it was the tree back at Iwatobi…but then again…"

"Tree-chan is in trouble, dammit!" growled Rei, "No matter what tree it is…they're all in danger!"

"Oh no way in hell!" gasped Nagisa.

"Nanase," said Haruka, "Go forth to find where that tree is at."

"We will do our best," replied Suiei Nanase, "Brothers, let's go."

"Likewise," agreed Suiei Tachibana.

"Nagisa," said Suiei Hazuki, "We need to talk later when I get back, okay?"

"O-okay?" replied Nagisa, confused while his god replied with a wink of his left eye.

"Let's go then," said Suiei Marotta as he and Nanase vanished into the mists along with Tachibana.

"Well, off to find our old friend," sighed Suiei Ryugazaki as he vanished to the mists also.

Once the gods vanished, Alex asked, "A tree? I…I don't understand how…"

"This tree was a part of the Time Loop that we lived in…it helped me save my sister and it gave us the clues we needed to break that spell," explained Rin.

"Sounds like a living entity," replied Alex, "Alive like a sapient being…"

"Rei," said Haruka, "Can you hear the tree? Did it say anything?"

Rei shook his head and replied, "It's just in pain…it didn't tell me anything…only suffering."

"Just who woud dare to do such a thing…" bgean Makoto when the earthquake struck again, knocking them down.

"SHIT!" growled Alex as he fell on his back.

"Another one," muttered Makoto while holding onto Nagisa.

Rin held onto Rei while the megane was feeling terrified by what he was sensing.

"This world is…" began Haruka.

"Guys what the fuck is happening!?" shouted Izawa.

"YOU GUYS WATCH OUT!" shouted Alex as he unleashed a water shield spell to protect them from some debris. The debris smashed into the shield but dissolved.

"Thanks Alex-kun," said Rin.

"You guys!" gasped Haruka, "Look over there!"

They turned to see one side of the village falling into the sea as a result of the earthquake as the shaking finally stopped but the damage was unfolding.

"Are you okay?" asked Mikoshiba as he held Gou's hand.

Gou nodded in reply while Rei's eyes were terrified and filled with horror and upsetting. Rei had to find where the tree was at.

"It…it hurts," said Rei, "OH WHAT THE HELL! TREE JUST TELL ME! WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!?"

After a few moments a soft response could be heard from everywhere as the voice answered, "_Rei…Haruka…Nagisa…Rin…Makoto…_"

"T-tree?!" gasped Rei softly as he could finally hear it calling out.

"_The end draws nea_r," said the echoing voice of the tree, "_If I do not get re-relocated…to put my soul in…this world…it'll…_"

But before it could finish, the tree lashed out another scream as Tulisea blasted another shadow at it, causing several of its branches to fall and break away.

"We have to find him!" cried Rei.

"A tree has a soul?" asked Izawa, "Those are NOT called trees…"

"Matsuoka," said Rin, "Can you hear us?"

"Yes," replied the Suiei God.

"Did you find out where the tree is at?" asked Alex.

"In the heart of the darkness…lies the tree…in a place that the five stars have been to," replied Suiei Marotta.

The other boys gasped as they realized where the tree was at; it was in the same place as the Haus of the Heavens!

"NO!" growled Rin, "Why is the tree even there!?"

"I don't want to even think about this," said Nagisa.

Rei had enough of this as he shook his head and dashed off, heading for the road while being careful to not fall into the cracks or unstable ground. Rin got up to chase after him as the red-hair grabbed the megane.

"REI, STOP!" shouted Rin, "Dammit! It's not even tomorrow!"

"But…I…I can't!" replied the megane.

"We can't get to the tower if the full moon isn't out tonight!" yelled Rin.

Haruka, Makoto, Nagisa and Alex rushed up to them while Rin stared at Rei's eyes carefully.

"He's in pain Rin!" said Rei, "We have to do something!"

"You're right…we know where he is now," replied Rin, "But let us trust our gods to further investigate this."

"Rei come on," agreed Gou, "You need to lay back a while from all of that stress."

"I…I just can't help it, okay?" asked Rei.

Alex sighed and replied, "If we storm off now to that place, they'll kill us. We can't face off until there's a weak point at their base."

"Maybe we should combine our powers," suggested Makoto, "And see to the tree's safety. After all, our powers have been able to do great miracles."

"Yeah," agreed Rin, "Unity is our weapon."

"I guess I can't fight against that one," said Nagisa as he held out his hands.

Together, the six boys formed a circular chain as their necklaces began to glow.

"Back in the BIONICLE story, unity was emphasized because the heroes had their problems with sticking together. It is time that we focus and do what we need to do," said Alex.

"You know a lot of that 'BIONICLE' of yours," sighed Haruka as he closed his eyes.

The others closed their eyes as a glowing aura of light shimmered around them, almost combining them to become one entity but they were six individuals.

"_Waters of the time…_" chanted Makoto.

"_Grant our old friend…_" said Rin.

"_Enough strength…_" added Haruka.

"_To hold against the darkness_," chanted Alex.

"_To fight off the pain_," said Rei.

"_So that all of this can end_," finished Nagisa.

* * *

Tulisea noticed a blast of light growing on the tree as she was thrown back by the energies unleashed. Kouta also noticed it as his hissed.

"The work of the gods," muttered Tulisea.

"Why am I not surprised," said Kouta.

"This barrier will last a period of time," she replied, "They know where we are."

"See to that those boys are killed," he ordered, "It is time that they shall be defeated…but…if they get close, I will cast another spell with help from our allies."

* * *

The boys opened their eyes as they turned to see Izawa, Mikoshiba, Gou and Nitori arriving at the scene.

"Quite an interesting power you guys had there," said Mikoshiba.

"We did what we could," replied Haruka.

"To buy the tree some time…hopefully," said Makoto.

"We need to save him," added Rei, "The tree."

"And we will," replied Rin.

"Maybe it's time I phone home or something," said Izawa as she walked off to the side.

Mikoshiba and Nitori dashed off to the destroyed village while Gou stayed behind with the others. While Alex wanted to go and see what was happening, they had a battle to prepare for and to practice on their magic again.

As for the village, Mikoshiba and Nitori found at least 2 survivors; both of them were kids with families that were killed during the incident. After they called the emergency to get the kids settled at a center, the two guys returned back home by nightfall.

By the next morning, the Gods reappeared to the boys as the six gathered in the living room.

"Theese Arabian clothes will change and morph around…adapting to your surroundings," said Suiei Tachibana.

"Meaning…?" asked Makoto.

"If the people of that place uses magic to unleash a desert or something hot, your clothes will change into the Arabian style...if you guys encounter a pool...they'll morph into your swim gear," explained Suiei Nanase.

"I guess that sounds useful," muttered Rin.

"Alex, your clothes is a bit different since you are the lost prince…but…your clothes do have its own Arabian form if it needs to. However, by default it is the armor of the warrior," said Suiei Marotta.

"Hey um…Nagisa," said Suiei Hazuki as he walked to the side, beckoning the blonde to follow.

"Hazuki?" asked Nagisa as he walked up to him, "What's the matter? What did you wanted to talk about?"

"Well…firstly, your clothes are magical, but you probably guessed that one already," he replied, "Secondly… can you stay out of this mess?"

"Hazuki, you know that I can't…why? What's the matter?" asked Nagisa.

"I'm…I'm scared of losing you," replied the god.

"W-what?" asked Nagisa.

"Here, take this," said Suiei Hazuki as he handed him a pink gem earing, "I made this a bit ago…it'll protect you when I cannot."

"Suiei, you're not making any sense," replied the blonde.

"Goodnight," he answered as he vanished into the mists.

"He…he's not well," said Nagisa as he dripped a sweat-drop on his face, "This is morning…"

Makoto found him in the hallway and rested his hand on his shoulder, saying, "We can't be scared now. We got our full powers…they'll be within our hearts."

Meanwhile the other four guys checked out the rest of their clothes as they were already in their battle form as a test model.

"DO you guys have swords also?" asked Alex.

"I have a cutlass here," replied Haruka as he withdrew his out.

"I think I got something too," said Rin as he looked at his dagger-like sword.

"OH YOU GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!?" snapped Rei.

"Huh?" asked Nagisa as the blonde and Makoto arrived to hear the commotion.

"What's the matter Rei?" asked Makoto.

"A butterfly patterned EMPTY SHEATH!?" replied Rei.

"OH um…maybe there's something…uh…did you ask your god if he provided it for you?" asked Rin, "I kinda had to ask my god what weapon I had and I uh…"

"IT'S AN EMPTY SHEATH WITH BUTTERFLIES RIN!" snapped the megane.

"Well at least I have a small dagger," said Nagisa.

"Ugh, I was trying ot help," sighed Rin.

Mikoshiba walked into the room with Nitori as they heard the noise.

"Wow….you all look amazing!" said Mikoshiba, "But where's your sister at?"

Before anyone could answer, they heard a soft reply, "Here…"

They turned to see Gou dressed in her Arabian clothes; it was red and pink designed along with several strands of gold with jewelry on her fingers and wrists and even a necklace on her. Mikosbhia blushed at the sight but he smiled.

"My goodness…yo-you look pretty!" blushed Mikoshiba.

"You look very nice Kou," said Haruka.

"Yeah!" replied Rin, "The color suits you well!"

"Pretty!" smiled Nagisa.

"Nice Kou," said Rei.

"T-thanks!" blushed Gou.

"But I don't understand," said Alex, "If she has the clothes also…what does this mean in terms of…"

Before anyone could reply, there was a knock on the door. Mikoshiba walked up to it and saw Nikon standing at the entrance.

"Hello you guys," said Nikon as he walked in.

"Nikon-chan!" replied Nagisa.

"It's been a while indeed since we hung out…" he answered as he saw Alex standing next to Haruka.

"N-Nikon…" began Alex.

"I see you've grown too…Alex-chan," said Nikon, smiling a little.

"So what made you come here?" asked Makoto.

"My role here is done…" he replied, "I waited for this day to come…Acacius and Erastos are waiting for me…"

"What are you talking about?" asked Rin.

"This body that I inhabited…" said Nikon, "I took it over not long after you guys were born…I was instructed to wait until you guys would finally take in the rebellion of the Haus of the Heavens. I didn't know the place either but once we did, I would fulfill the next stage."

"Stage?" asked Gou.

"Yes…I have taken this body here as a vessel for the sake of you Alex and Serah…but she's no longer, here am I correct?" asked Nikon.

"Oi! I heard a thing," said Izawa as she saw the new company, "And she's gone but who the hell are you?"

"Serah met him a month ago…along with Alex…this guy…he's important to us."

"Hello there," said Nikon, "You must be…?"

"Izawa Sora," she replied, "Please to whatever with you."

Nikon nodded as he turned to Gou, saying, "My time here in this vessel is up…once my body collapses, my soul will merge in your mind…using what I know…you must use it for the battle ahead."

"W-what!?" she gasped.

"Ugh that sounds gross!" sighed Izawa.

"I have given you a fragment of my knowledge," he said, "The past…for the sake of helping Rin and the others get together again back when you were kids. Erastos and Acacius were already inside of Nitori and Mikoshiba but witch boy assigned me to be a carrier between the dimensions of conscious and the reality."

"I guess…the hour is drawing closer," said Mikoshiba.

"Right," nodded Nitori.

Nikon smiled as his body turned into ashes as the winds scattered it away while the remaining soul was nothing but a ball of light as it merged inside of Gou's body. She felt a bit light-headed at first but Mikoshiba and Nitori helped her to stay balanced.

"Yeah gross," said Izawa, "I…uh, I"ll just go talk to my friend away from this."

"You okay Kou?" asked Nitori, "It's gonna feel weird for a bit but we were already used to this. They entrust us now."

"It's up to us that we cannot fail this battle," agreed Mikoshiba.

"Right," she nodded.

* * *

By 6:30 PM in the evening, they stood outside as they readied themselves for the journey. Haruka chanted the magical spell as they all held hands and teleported to the streets of Tokyo just a few blocks away from their target.

Mikoshiba held up a gun-like device while Nitori looked at his pouch. Gou looked at her staff in the hands that the gods gave to her along with the other gifts.

"We'll support you guys," said Mikoshiba, "We may not have much magic but we'll be standing by."

"Will you three be okay with this?" asked Haruka.

"Yeah!" replied Gou.

"We'll kick ther asses down!" smirked Makoto.

"Hell yeah!" agreed Rin, "This is finally our time to shine!"

"Who should I go with?" asked Izawa when she turned to see Nitori feeling concerned for her.

"Ni…" she said, "I can hear your heartbeats and your thoughts…you want me to stay with you?"

"I-Izawa…" he replied, "I mean…is it alright for you to stay?"

The six boys began to walk off as Haruka said, "we're going now."

"We'll win this Nii," smiled Izawa, "Take care now, okay?"

Nitori nodded as he watched the seven begin their invasion of the Shinjuku Tower X. He and Miko and Gou had specific instructions by Erastos, Nikon, and Acacius and it required them to stay behind.

* * *

"This way!" said Haruka as he saw the entrance as they rushed inside.

They entered through a series of hallways almost like a maze until they finally reached at the massive chamber which they didn't expect to see so differently unlike the time loop. Back in the loop, the place was historic and ancient looking…now…it was modern, looking almost futuristic with glass all around.

"Rin?" asked Haruka.

Rin nodded as he threw the small rock across the room. It was silent at first but they heard a faint noise. Suddenly, there were lasers all around as gun shots were fired at the rock.

"Just like the last time," sighed Makoto.

"Shh, you guys," replied Rin, "We can't them hear us."

"How are we going to surprise them?" whispered Alex.

"Um you guys…"began Rei, where's Nagisa?"

They turned to see the blonde already taking action as Nagisa took down several of the corpses before his heel as laser beams were pointed at him.

"Taken care of down in this end," said the blonde as his eyes glowed pink.

"Nagisa!" shouted Haruka.

The lasers turned into bullets as the guards fired towards Nagisa. The blonde unleashed a shield to stop the attacks while the others jumped into battle and unleashed their magical spells against the guards.

"I'll just sit here and watch you guys," said Izawa.

Makoto soared around and splashed the guards with his vase, burning them down with the acidic fluids.

"Waters of the spears…go stab thy enemy!" shouted Rin as he unleashed a blast of water.

Alex jumped his way up to the next floor level as he charged up at some of the gards while slicing them down and kicking them to the side. Haruka dodged several bullets while Rei unleashed several water attacks in reply to the enemy's firing.

"Waters of the stormy sea…" chanted Nagisa, "Please drown them all."

"N-Nagisa...what the?!" asked Rei as he kicked down a few guards.

"Woops?" smirked the blonde.

Haruka turned to see a flood of water crashing into the area as he jumped along with Makoto, Rei and Rin to meet up with Alex.

"Uh yeah," said Izawa, following Nagisa, "moving up."

"They just keep coming…" muttered Alex, before shouting, "WATCH OUT!"

Alex unleashed a blast of water attack before shouting, "DRAGON SEA KING!"

He unleashed a dragon blast of water as the monster ate the guards up but more were on their way to replace the lost ones.

"Is it the magic of this place?" asked Makoto.

"Most likely," said Haruka.

"You guys okay?" asked Alex to the headset.

"Yeah," replied Mikoshiba, "We're standing by…we could hear a lot of fighting."

"Mhmm," agreed Gou.

"Did you guys see anything suspicious outside?" asked Haurka.

"Not really," replied Nitori, "But the full moon is out so it's anytime now that you'll be able to find the Haus of the Heavens."

Rin unleashed his x-ray vision to find the hallway that would lead them to the boss. He saw a clear opening that led to the north tower.

"This way!" shouted Rin as he turned to a corner and fought off more guards.

"Oi Rin!" shouted Rei, "Wait up!"

"Where's Izawa?" asked Haruka.

"She was here a moment ago…" said Makoto.

"Invisible again?" sighed Nagisa.

"Hey you guys!" shouted Rin, "Come over here!"

They finally caught up with Rin as the red-hair saw a giant painting of a tree before them.

"This…this looks familiar…doesn't it?" asked Rin.

"Tree-sama!" said Rei, feeling a bit relieved to be a step closer.

"But in a form of painting?" asked Haruka.

"That painting there from what Acacius told me...it's supposedily the entrance that leds to the where the Tree is at," explained Mikoshiba through the headsets, "However, it seems to be closed... it won't open unless if Kou can fullfill her task."

"I see," replied Haruka.

"Does she know what needs to be done?" asked Rin.

"No I don't? NIkon told me a few things but...I'm not as clear," replied Gou through the headsets.

"Well it sounds cheesy…" said Izawa as she finally arrived, "But do your thing."

"Oh there you are," replied Nagisa.

* * *

**Back outside…**

"I know you can do it…that pole…" said Mikoshiba, "Nikon said that it'll be used to help them."

"Maybe it's time we play our part," agreed Nitori as he opened his pouch and poured out some white fine powder and sprinkled it around Gou in a circle.

"But what am I suppose to do?" she asked, "Nikon…"

"Young lady," echoed Nikon's voice in her mind, "That powder that Erastos/Nitori is using…it'll be transformed into magic that you'll need. The tower is barricaded with dark magic; breaking the outer layer will help the gods get closer to their destination."

"Mikoshiba," echoed Acacius's voice inside Miko's mind, "You must prepare your gun at the ready...aim it at the sphere that is high above the tower...you'll see it. Fire it and it'll begin to neutralize the shield."

Gou blinked her eyes and nodded, "Well…I can only hope this will work."

* * *

While the boys analyzed the painting for a minute, Alex turned his head and saw…his brother!?

Sergi giggled and waved out to his brother as the older one gasped, "H-HOW DID YOU?!"

The boy giggled and ran off. Alex rushed to follow him, ignoring the protests of the others.

"ALEX WAIT!" shouted Haruka, "This isn't real! He's not what you think he is!"

"Dammit," sighed Makoto, "He's already off."

"I'll deal with him…you guys go on ahead," said Haruka as he used his traveling spell to chase after Alex.

"I hope it's nothing too serious but I got a bad feeling about this place," said Rin.

* * *

Alex rushed through the hallways and saw his brother laughing and giggling before him, prompting him to get through the stair well before him. He climbed up the stairs just as Haruka arrived at the scene and cried out to get him back but it was no use. Alex was already consumed by this magic or something…for he sensed something awfully wrong here.

"OI! Alex! Wait!" shouted Haruka.

Alex got to the top of the stairs as he walked into another hall and saw two massive doorways before him. He sensed something powerful coming from the other side of the room. After a moment, the doors opened as a bright wave of light struck him. The boy kept a grip on his swored as he cautioned himself and walked in.

Haruka tried to reach him but the doors slammed shut before he could even get his shouting to the boy's ears.

Alex walked into a bright chamber and saw a figure standing before him with an evil smirk on his face but before he could react, the world changed around him.

* * *

"Rei, can you sense anything in this painting?" asked Rin, "Is it an entrance?"

"It's definitely an entrance alright," said Rei.

"I can sense energy oozing out…something's beyond this," agreed Izawa.

Nagisa chuckled and replied, "You think there's more guards behind there?"

"Whatever it is," muttered Rin, "I do not like this…"

Makoto turned his head as he saw a shadowing figure standing before them as he cried out, "Um…guys!?"

Nagisa turned and chuckled in response, "Please let them be bad guys…"

Makoto's eyes widened in shock as he saw the familiar shape, "It's far worse than that!"

The shadow figured walked into their vision as Miho Amakata stood before them.

"SENSEI!?" gasped Makoto.

"ARE YOU SERIOUS!?" growled Izawa, "I thought this was the worst!?"

"Uh…heya sensei!" said Nagisa as he grinned.

But the teacher stared at them blankly with a dark voice, "Fools…taking out on my cousin…the governor of this city…you…"

"This isn't what it appears to be!" said Makoto, "Just this painting…"

But before he could finish, the false Miho melted away as shadow spikes struck them to the wall, pinning them down.

"Shit!" growled Rin, "This isn't the real ama-chan!"

"SURE…THE TEACHER CAN USE MAGIC TOO!" growled Izawa, "HOW PERFECT!"

But the image of Miho changed as Tulisea walked into the scene with her hatred eyes at the gods, remembering how she was betrayed by Arogen when the villain threw a vial of blood into her eye.

"I have waited for your arrival," she hissed, "Suiei Gods…the foolish ones…taking on the life of five…oh no…six boys…boys that are nothing more than vessels."

Rin growled in response as he said, "We're bonded to them if you must know!"

"Perhaps," she replied, "But the heart of the gods…they lie in your necklaces…"

"Uh…what?" asked Rei.

"But tell me," said Tulisea, "Have you wondered what was inside your necklaces?"

"And why should we?" asked Nagisa, "Something of your interest?"

"Perhaps and more…" she hissed, extending her hands out in preparation for her magic, "But now…it's time for that legend to decay…just like life itself!"

* * *

"Kou…" said Nikon, "Repeat my chant."

The girl nodded as the Greek boy continued, "Remember the difference…for one is not the same but yet the same…or we are one and all…and as one we become more…grant us the day of freedom! _**Ore to omare no sa o oshiete yaru yo!**_"

Gou breathed in and recited the words as she calmly focused on them with hope and determination to the spell and for her friends and her brother. Mikoshiba fired the gun as the white poweder glowed around Gou and swirled with magical effects.

"It...it's working," said Nitori.

Gou raised her pole and followed the blast where Mikoshiba fired the gun, "Ike!"

The two blasts of energy struck the sphere at the top of the tower as the building glowed dark energy and electrical fields. The barrier collapsed into shards of glass as the trio were stunned.

"THIS WAY!" shouted Mikoshiba as they ran from the collapsing glass. In the nearby neighbors, the people could hear the commotion going on as they saw the strange, bizzare energy unfolding itself.

* * *

Back inside, Tulisea stopped her magic and growled, "Those fools…damn you Nikon…Erastos…Acacius!"

She soared off as she broke the spell that pinned the others.

"She's gonna hurt the others!" cried Makoto, "Come on Nagisa! We can't let her hurt them!"

"Right," smirked Nagisa as his eyes glowed dangerous pink, "Waters of the storm night seas…bring her back down here!"

The two rushed off while Rin, Izawa and Rei saw a strange glow on the painting.

"Rei look!" shouted Rin, grabbing Rei's hand, "The painting! It's reaching out to us now!"

Rei smiled with hope as he replied, "Tree-sama…we're on our way!"

Rei and Rin hang onto each other as the painting draws out its colors at the two along with Izawa as they were being teleported to the chamber of the tree while Nagisa and Makoto go after Tulisea on a dangerous chase.

* * *

**_Chapters 9 and Epilogue (END of Book 2) will be out Next Mon. December 30, 2013_**

**_SNEAK PREVIEW of "The Last Legend" will be out on December 27, 2013_**

**_REMASTERED Release: Free! The Last Race will be out on January 3, 2014!_**

**_BOOK 3: The Last Legend begins on January 8, 2014!_**


	10. Chapter 9: Wrath of the Haus

**_Chapter 9: _**ハウスの怒り! **_Wrath of the Haus!_**

Haruka stared at the giant doors before him. Just moment ago, he tried to reach Alex but the other boy got through the doors. They were locked and there was no mechanism that would open or hack to open.

He rested his hand on the doorway when it finally opened, casting out bright light at his face. Haruka shield his eyes as he walked in, heading into the world of sands before his eyes.

_A desert_, thought Haruka, _where the hell am I?_

Haruka rushed through the sands of the desert as he saw the dunes, the hot-bright sun with an occasional oasis. He extended his hand out to try to use some magic but nothing was coming out.

"M-my magic!" he snarled, "I can't use it!"

He turned to see a camel right before him as the animal gestured for him to ride on.

* * *

In another area of the desert, Alex was walking but his eyes were faded, taking a step by step slowly. His enemy stood before him as Kouta took on the form of his brother.

"I finally got you here," said the false Sergi, "Trapped in this endless illusions…of course the last magic that my friends and I used against you…when Stefani made fun of your name based on a song…it was quite useless.

"But now…you'll face your death slowly as you walk to the end."

The false brother turned back into the governor as Kouta smirked and vanished away from the illusion.

* * *

Haruka got on the camel as they raced across the desert to find Alex. He was determined to get him back before things got worse in this illusion.

_Someone with great magic has done this,_ thought Haruka, _but he's gotta be here, somewhere…right?_

He got off as he heard laughter coming nearby. He got up the sand dune and saw a massive oasis right before him. Rin, Rei, Nagisa and Makoto swam around in their skinny dipping as they turned to see Haruka before him.

_What…is going on_, thought Haruka, _are they really here!?_

"Come on Haru!" laughed Rin, "Why do you have to stay dressed like that?"

"Yeah come and join us!" giggled Nagisa.

Rei laughed while Makoto splashed around and brushed his hair back. Everyone seemed so happy here as the water was tempting Haruka to go join them.

_I feel dry as the sands_, thought Haruka, _maybe I can…NO! NO! NO! This isn't happening! I have to save Alex!_

* * *

Back in the tower, Makoto blasted various water spells against Tulisea while the female dream seer dodged the attacks. Nagisa followed the attack but aimed it with the intention of killing this bitch.

"Oi! Sensei…slow down!" said Nagisa.

"She's not sensei!" replied Makoto, "I had a feeling something was off…but I couldn't be certain!"

"I took on her form to trick your senses," hissed Tulisea, "But that doesn't always work…"

Makoto grabbed Nagisa too the side as they dodged her shadow blast at them. Makoto had enough of this so he stepped in front of his blonde lover.

"How dare you try to manipulate our sensei! I don't know what side she's on but to disgrace her like that…you BITCH!" shouted Makoto as he unleashed a massive wave of water from his vase. The blast was barricaded by Tulisea's shielding spell.

"Oi oi, Mako-chan," grinned Nagisa as he stared at Tulisea, "I'll kill her…and it'll be fun!"

Makoto was about to respond but his eyes flickered green briefly as he gasped, "Haruka! Alex! I ...I can't detect them!"

"The plan is beginning to unravel…the time is approaching," hissed Tulisea, "The covenant…"

"Does it matter?" chuckled Nagisa as he readied his blast at the enemy.

"You won't hurt us!" growled Makoto as he and Naigsa prepared to combine their powers and unleashing a blast towards her.

"Right," smirked Nagisa.

"You got no permission to touch this holy place!" growled Tulisea as she blocked their attack, "Those who are unclean are denied his holy grace!"

"SHUT UP!" shouted Makoto angrily.

The room began to rumble and shake as Nagisa smirked a smile, "Hehe…what end game is this already?"

The ceiling above collapsed as Makoto grabbed Nagisa to dodge the falling rubble. One of the rubble stabbed on Tulisea's leg as she screamed out.

"DAMN YOU ERASTOS, NIKON…ACACIUS!" she growled.

"Oh Mako-chan, stop being so clingy," smirked Nagisa, "She's already bleeding…"

However, before either of them could continue, something was leaking out of her body as the dream seer was feeling raw energy coursing through her existence.

"W-what the hell is that!?" gasped Makoto.

"END GAME!" laughed Naigsa hysterically.

Tulisea grunted in pain as she turned to them saying, "_The day…of….aa-awwakening…is…up-pon you…be-bewa-reeee…_"

Tulisea crumbled away into dust which disappointed Nagisa.

"Awww, she withered out too soon," he pouted.

"I can't get a hold of Alex and Haruka…they're not in connection in our minds…but I do sense Rei and Rin still," said Makoto, "Let's get going…"

"Well what the hell are you going to do about that?" asked Nagsia darkly, "Just what do we do from here on out?"

Makoto looked at Nagisa's vermillion colored eyes and noticed something odd about his beloved blonde; something was totally off of him.

"Don't you remember what happened to Alex when we first met him?" asked Makoto, "Half of his soul was trapped in an illusion…"

"So what?" asked Nagisa.

"Look right here," he replied, "This is where we first fought our battle…but it's odd that there are no guards now around."

"You're point?" asked Nagisa again as he was getting more annoyed.

"Haven't you remembered what Rei said…" began Makoto when he heard Mikoshiba's voice on the mic.

"You guys! The other layer is removed!" said Mikoshiba.

"You guys doing okay out there?" asked Makoto.

"Yeah just fine," said Gou.

"It appears that most of the magic has been weakened," said Nitori.

"I still sense something wrong here," replied Makoto.

"Well I tried to get a hold of Haruka and Alex but there is no response…Rei and Rin are somewhere but they're occupied on a task," said Mikoshiba.

"Maybe it's because there's still something inside?" suggested Gou, "We did only get rid of the outer layer…"

"Rei and Rin are on their way to the tree," said Nitori.

"Ugh, I'm bored," sighed Nagisa, "Mako-chan, I want to kill more things. Let's just hurry and go for the final boss, okay?"

"You guys be careful," replied Mikoshiba, "Well get some updates to you as soon as we can."

"Right," smirked Nagisa, "See ya!"

* * *

Rei and Rin rushed down the stairs as they heard water nearby. They had to be close to where the tree was at. Meanwhile, Izawa was taking her time as she could feel how strange the radiation was in this place.

By the time the two got down to the bottom of the stairs, their Arabian Clothes changed into their swimsuit forms with goggles and swim caps on.

"A giant pool here, I guess we're swimming across?" asked Rin.

"Anything for tree-sama!" said Rei as he dove in with his butterfly.

"Right," smirked Rin as he joined up and soared across the waters.

"I am so just running across," muttered Izawa as she called out, "Razor wind!"

Izawa skipped her away across the water while her feet glowed, enabling her to stay above the water. Once the boys got to the shore, they saw the giant Sakura Tree standing on a mound of dirt with some sort of shadow-like hands/tentacles choking around the "golden barrier" that the boys put a spell on to preserve its existence.

"There it is!" said Rin as he followed Rei.

The tree breathed heavily as it sensed the arrival of the boys and a visitor…finally it spoke, "You're finally here…oh how long has it's been…Suiei Gods…."

"Oh Tree-kun! I missed you!" said Rei as he attempted to glomp at the tree but Rin saw something growing on the tree.

"Stay back!" said the tree, "Those shadows have tried to eat me alive…if you get too close to me, they'll devour you!"

Rin grabbed Rei's hand to keep him safe while the megane tried to calm down from the excitement.

"What the…" muttered Izawa as she couldn't believe her very eyes on what she was seeing.

"The last time we met," spoke the tree, "IT was back in Sametsuka…when I tested your courage; you freed the lost souls…"

"Uh guys," said Izawa, "The tree…actually talks! Why does this tree talk!?"

Rin gasped as he realized something foul i the air, "Haruka! Alex…neither of them are in my senses! They're gone!"

"That bastard," growled the tree, "He sent his ultimate magic against them!"

"Ultimate magic?" asked Rei.

"He casted them into an illusion…they're not in reality," said the tree.

"A-an illusion?" asked Rin.

"They cannot escape from there…unless…" muttered the tree as its branches shook around to retrieve something. The trio watched as the branches unfolded extended, twisted, and leaked some fluid out of the bark as a small vial was produced.

"This is an extract…that can dispel the illusion," said the tree, "Drinking this will shield you from the magic inside the spell. Rei, you must go and rescue Haruka and Alex but the moment you drink this, you have a short time to use it."

"And what about me?" asked Rin.

"You Rin…must go find Nagisa and Makoto…but I sense something odd about your blonde friend…" replied the tree, "You must get them here in this place…but before you can…"

The branches shook and petals scattered around as a sakura flower with a golden aura around it was produced. Rin took it and looked at it with curiosity.

"Um…tree?" asked Izawa.

"What's the matter Izawa?" asked Rin

"IT'S A TALKING TREE!" she cried out, "I THOUGHT IT WAS ONLY A METAPHOR!"

The tree laughed and replied, "Well you missed out on their previous adventures…"

"I DIDN'T THINK YOU WERE AN ACTUAL TREE!" snapped Izawa.

"I am more than what I appear to be," said the Tree, "But that's not for what you need to know."

"But what about the price?" asked Rei, "The last time we…"

"There is no need for you guys to pay the price…if anything…I am the one that needs to pay," said the Tree.

"We'll get them back, both Nagisa, Alex, and Haruka!" replied Rin.

"Once you all regroup, you must hurry to the top floor…the bastard is up there, waiting," said the Tree as the plant could feel its body beginning to wither away.

"Tree, you're not going to…!?" gasped Rei as he saw several seeds being unleashed from the tree.

"Erastos…Nikon….Acacius…if they succeed, I will be waiting for you all again…at the park….where I belong…" said the Tree as began to crumble away.

Rei began to cry helplessly again as he wanted to have some tea with this entity.

"I cannot say because the shadows will eat me…but as long as I am planted and reborn…this world will…" began the tree when it coughed.

"What will happen…?" began Rin.

But the earthquake struck again as they could feel the outside world shaking more violently.

"We have to hurry!" said Rei as he turned and jumped into the pool with a face of determination.

Rin followed the megane and jumped in as well, heading back to the outside.

* * *

Mikoshiba fell over as they all felt the world shaking again.

"Another one!?" gasped Nitori.

Several people nearby began to panic and hang onto each other as the Shinjuku district was in chaos. Several police cars were already out to investigate the tower but the main access was blocked out by something mysterious.

"What's going on!?" gasped Gou.

Mikoshiba turned his head and saw something in the distance; it looked like a scatter of petals and seeds as the wind scattered it around but creating a flow towards them.

"What are those seeds!?" asked Nitori.

"You must take them back to the Metro Park," said Nikon, "And plant them…and regrow them…combined with our magic."

"But we'll send you three there in no time…let the pole be your guide," added Acacius.

Gou looked at her pole arm as it began to glow while Mikoshiba and Nitori grabbed a few of the seeds and placed them in a pouch. Once the three of them grabbed onto the pole, they were teleported back to the Metro Park while the ground was still shaking a bit.

"We have to hurry!" said Gou as she and Nitori found a random shovel nearby to start digging.

"Without any form of that tree, the world cannot be supported by its magic ever since the universe was born…this planet was gifted with powers unlike the rest of the solar system. If the tree does not grow back soon…the magic will trigger destruction," explained Acacius.

Then why didn't you tell us this sooner!?" growled Mikoshiba.

"That sounds way too extreme…just how can we get this thing to grow back fast enough!?" asked Gou.

"You cannot lose hope…" replied Nikon, "It is your hope that will shine on your hearts…let us become one and together…"

Nitori's eyes began to glow as he could feel his hand extending out towards the ground. Gou quickly piled the dirt back up after planting the seeds while Mikoshiba's eyes glowed neon yellow. Gou's eyes finally glowed a bright burgundy-red color as well.

The three stood together side by side as streams of red, yellow and blue swirled around as a sprout broke free from the ground and rapidly grew larger and larger into a massive Sakura Tree while the shaking finally stopped but their bodies were still glowing.

"And now…" said Acacius.

"For the showdown of the government…" chanted Nikon.

"Ore to omae no sa o oshiete yaru yo!" chanted Erastos.

* * *

Rei, Rin and Izawa returned back to the hallway from the painting as there was little time left before who knew what chaos would be unleashed next. However, they felt the earthquake finally stopped as they were somewhat relieved.

"Be careful Rei," said Rin as he kissed him briefly.

"Right," smiled Rei while Rin casted the waters of travel spell to soar across the hallways.

Rei turned to the hallway where Alex and Haruka ran and chanted his traveling spell as well. He wasn't so sure on what Izawa was going to do but he had little time left to save Haruka and Alex…especially the latter.

_I have to…_thought Rei, _I can't let either of them die! Even though Alex may have…oh god…why am I thinking this?_

* * *

"Again Nagisa, you sound a bit off," sighed Makoto as he prayed for help.

"I do not sound off!" snapped the blonde, "I don't care who lives or dies!"

"Not even if it was Alex or Haruka?" asked Makoto.

"NO!" growled Nagisa.

Makoto carefully brushed his hand to the vase and had to figure out what to do to save Nagisa. The last time this happened, the blonde was briefly controlled by the ghosts through fear and despair. Now this time the blonde was more sadistic and blood hungry and if this were to continue…

"I see you got a glitch there…Makoto," said a voice.

"R-Rin!?" gasped Makoto.

The red-hair arrived with the flower in his hands with a smirk on his face.

"Oh hey Rin-chan!" smirked Nagisa darkly.

"Thank heavens you're alright!" said Makoto.

"I didn't sense them either...but I have faith that they'll be alright," said Rin.

"Huh?" asked Nagisa.

Rin held out the flower as the golden aura drifted away from the carpels to Nagisa as Makoto seemed a bit confused on what was happening.

"Is that a Sakura?" asked Makoto.

"What the hell!?" snapped Nagisa.

"It's for you…" smirked Rin, "Nagi-chan."

"NO! GET THAT THING AWAY FROM ME!" growled Nagisa as he charged over towards Rin.

"I heard what you said about Haru-chan and Alex-chan…kinda hurtful don't you think?" asked Rin as he dodged Nagisa's blow.

"So what?" growled the blonde as he tried to hit Rin, "I DON'T CARE!"

"NAGISA STOP THIS!" shouted Makoto.

"The magic in the tower is hurting all of us! If you don't wake up soon…no one will make it out of here…alive," replied Rin as he blew the powder to Nagisa's nose. The scent finally got inside of the blonde as he choked and breathed heavily while his eyes widened and the irises transformed from vermillion red to hot neon pink to normal pink again.

Makoto caught Nagisa as the blonde fell over while the latter muttered, "M-Mako…-c-chan.."

"Oh Naigsa," sighed Makoto in relief as he hugged him tightly.

"Eh...w-what happened to me?" asked Naigsa.

"We don't have any time left," said Rin, "We have to hurry back to Tree-sama. Nagisa, the magic of this place is hurting you."

"H-how?" asked the blonde.

"I don't know but the tree has enlisted me to help you and Makoto," replied Rin as he extended his hands out, "Come on."

The other two held hands as the three were in a triangular-circle while Rin chanted the traveling spell.

* * *

Back in the illusion, Alex was walking closer and closer to his demise; a gigantic sand vortex swirled around like a tornado, pulling everything in its path.

It was only a matter of time before he too, would be swiped inside and gone from any hope that remains in his heart.

"Alex! ALEX!" shouted a voice.

But the boy kept on walking, never turning his head around as his eyes were blank and lifeless.

"ALEX!" shouted Rei as he grabbed him by the wrist. The foreigner shrugged it off and walked closer and closer.

"STOP IT!" said Rei as he grabs him from the back, pulling him away, "Please wake up!"

But he saw that the eyes were blank and lifeless as the boy groaned in reply

"Oh dammit Alex!" snapped Rei as he took out the vial and poured half of what remained inside after he took a dose of it for himself to shield away from the spell. After a few seconds, the boy coughed and choked while his eyes glowed back to golden-yellow.

"W-where am I…?" muttered the boy as he felt a bit dizzy. He blinked twice and gasped as he saw Rei holding onto him.

"R-Rei! It's you!" said Alex.

"Oh thank goodness you're alright," replied Rei.

"T-Thank you…" he answered.

"We have to find Haruka before it's too late!" said Rei as he grabbed him by the hand and the two rushed through the desert sands as the winds blew around.

* * *

"What's wrong Haru?" asked Makoto, "You scared?"

"Scardy cat?" asked Rin.

Rei laughed as Nagisa replied, "Oh come on already! We're waiting for you!"

"Just take my hand Haru," said Rin as he extended his hand out.

"It's much nicer than the pool you know," smirked Makoto.

Haruka's hands began to tremble as he was about to take off his clothes when he heard screaming behind him.

"HARUKA!" shouted Alex and the real Rei.

Haruka turned to see the two rushing up towards him while the false boys growled in vengeance and were about to attack them when Alex unleashed a water shield as his necklace finally glowed again.

"Here drink this," said Rei, "You can't let them get to you."

Haruka took the vial as he drank it up while Rei closed his eyes and concentrated on his magic. They had to escape from here before things got worse.

"Don't listen to them," said Alex, "They're all an illusion…the desert isn't real!"

"Waters of the summer skies…make it rain!" chanted Rei as the clouds began to appear and rain washed around the scenery.

* * *

Before their eyes, the scene transformed from the hot desert to an executive office room where their enemy stood before them.

"I was wondering when you would stop acting like puppets," said Kouta, "Suiei Gods…"

"You…" growled Alex as he readied his sword.

"Now, now…" said Kouta, "No need to start a bloodshed."

"How dare you," replied Alex darkly, "How dare you tried to cast that spell on me and the others! How dare you tried to toy my mind that Stefani stille existed! YOU CALL YOURSELF A GOD WITH SUCH POWERS LIKE THAT!?"

"Alex don't!" said Haruka but the foreigner charged up to the governor. Kouta extended his hand as he blasted shadow energy at the boy, sending him to the wall.

"Alex!" gasped Haruka.

"So it was you all along. It surprises me how you went from being a pawn to being a leader nevertheless," said Rei.

"Of course...even after the time loop broke, I decided to make myself a king," replied Kouta, "Especially with the Youth Censorship Bill. Who needs physical strength when I can just use magic?"

"Ridiculous but predictable," muttered Rei.

"But of course I am not alone…I have help from other allies in different countries as well as my dearest cousin…" smirked Kouta.

Before Rei could ask, Miho Amakata stepped into the room as her head was lowered down. Alex gasped as he realized that his suspicions about her earlier were right on after all.

"I…I did what I could," she replied, "How did they even get this far?"

"I think you already know the answer to that," said Kouta.

"Sensei…are you truly on his side?" asked Rei.

Miho remained silent on the question while Kouta answered, "Oh don't be ridiculous…she's my cousin! She is the last of the Amakata Clan…but I'm sure you know that already Rei…"

Alex got up from the rubble and growled, "I swear…you'll pay for making this mess! Both here in Japan and the rest of the world!"

"I had really hoped for you sensei…even after the prying I have done…but we'll stop this," said Rei while he did the megane stare.

"As long as the Forbidden Covenant is honored and active, there will be no end to this madness!" said Kouta, "Now then, maybe it's time I teach you three a lesson…"

* * *

Rin, Makoto, and Nagisa appeared in the chamber where they saw the tree on the other side of the lake.

"We have to swim now," said Rin as his clothes transformed again.

"Huh?" asked Nagisa while his clothes transformed as well.

"Come on!" said Makoto as he jumped backwards and unleashed his back stroke.

Rin and Nagisa jumped in and swam to the other side where they saw the last of the tree being withered away while the shadows tried to eat it.

"Once I go…" said the tree, "the path to seek your enemy...is just up behind me...Go...GO SAVE THEM AND THIS WORLD!"

"I hope Rei doesn't cry too much about this," sighed Rin.

"He probably will," replied Makoto.

The three watched as a tunnel was revealed with a set of staircases led to the upper levels. There was no time to waste as they ran up the stairs, feeling the source of power coming from the very top where two massive doors stood.

"So this is it?" asked Makoto.

The doors opened as they readied their weapons and charged in but were stunned at the sight; Alex, Haruka, and Rei were pinned down by the shadow tentacles unleashed by Kouta as the were grabbed instantly and pinned down to the floor.

"It's about time the whole family showed up," said Kouta.

"…so then, what's next? I still don't understand why you're wasting your energy on them?" asked Miho.

"I told you already," sighed Kouta, "They are 'special'…and you know it."

"You dedicated EVERYTHING to them indeed," replied Miho.

"Yes I did," he replied, "I expected nothing else…I don't crave for influence or money…these boys are the key to my revenge for power. I will shape this world in which Arogean failed to do so…but I will make it more twisted than his visions…"

"So they really mean that much to you?" muttered Miho quietly.

Before Kouta could reply, ama-chan took out her gun and shot Kouta on the forehead but to her surprise, it was just stuck on there but it did shock the tyrant. However, some blood began to pour out from the enemy.

"Go sensei!" smirked Nagisa.

Rei girnned as he knew that she was going to be okay after all.

"You're going to do the same to me too…just like my family…just like my friends!" she growled, "You killed my dreams and my ambitions! You killed my friends back from when I was a kid and you destroyed the clan because of your greed!"

"And look at where you are now," he replied, "The Covenant will be fulfilled and your wish will be granted…the power that I promised you."

"You liar!" she snapped, her hand shaking, "How dare for you to question my future…?!"

But before she could finish, Kouta unleashed a shadow blast at her while throwing a sharp vial of blood at her left eye. She screamed as the pain stabbed her eye while falling down to her knees and her side.

"You…you…KOUTAAAAA!" she screamed.

"And now I'll return what I borrowed," he smiled, "Just as I have said…

Miho's body began to shake as she could feel her heart beat going faster and faster.

"Can you taste his blood?" asked Kouta, as he turned to Alex with a smirk on his face, "Watch her…she's becoming part of the covenant now."

Miho screamed in agony as her body was moving uncontrollably; she could feel the raw power being unleashed in her body as her screams were freaking out.

"SENSEI!" screamed Nagisa as his earing glowed in a pink-ish color. The blonde could feel his own soul merging in with Suiei Hazuki.

"My friends have taught me how to experiment humans beings…" said Kouta, "It's time I shall do the same to you!"

"You better not be planning on hurting Nagisa or anyone dear to him!" growled Suiei Hazuki through Nagisa's mouth.

"N-Nagisa!?" asked Makoto.

Suiei Hazuki/Nagisa's body began to glow as Kouta screamed a yelp and dropped the boys from the tentacles.

"Hope that serves you right," growled Suiie Hazuki/Nagisa.

"With his blood…I shall mutate you," said Kouta as ama-chan's body was slowly beginning to be covered in shadow energy.

"Oi!" shouted Suiei Hazuki/Nagisa, while charging up to the teacher.

"YOU WILL NOT LAY YOUR HANDS ON HER!" shouted Kouta as he unleashed a blast of shadow towards

"Shut up you!" snarled Suiei Hazuki/Nagisa.

The other gods finally showed up as they readied themselves for battle after hearing the cries of their human hosts.

"We finally got you!" said Suiei Marotta.

"The time has come…" nodded Suiei Nanase.

"THE COVENANT IS TO BE FULFILLED!" growled Kouta, "THE DAY OF AWAKENING SHALL RISE!"

"Tch!" growled Suiei Hazuki/Naigsa.

"You won't get away with this!" hissed Suiei Tachibana.

"Or else what?" asked Kouta while preparing another shadow blast, "The bill will be enforced…the world will be forever hidden from the truth! I will NOT let anything get exposed!"

Kouta amied his shadow blast towards Alex as Rei's eyes widened in shock but the foreigner casted a water shield to protect himself.

"Waters of the sword," chanted Alex as he got up, "Blood of the prince…END THIS!"

He turned to see Miho and replied, "Listen to me! You're being controlled by my blood, GO BACK TO NORMAL!"

"You have no right to lay hands on her!" snarled Kouta as he unleashed another blast towards the boy, knocking him down again.

"Alex no!" shouted Rin.

"I swear…" growled the foreigner as his eyes turned blood red, "You will not hurt anyone anymore!"

"Young prince!" shouted Suiei Marotta.

Kouta prepared another blast and replied, "It's time that I end all of this…from this day. Not only you will all disappear…but you will never exist again in time and space or in any universe or multiverse!"

Before he could finish the blast, the Suiei Necklaces glowed and the other boys gained the strength to get back up and they all stood side by side together. The six stars stood side by side with each other as they readied their weapons.

The boys (combined with the will of the Gods) prepared to combine their powers as one blast of light as they closed their eyes and remembered those who they all fought for…their family, their friends, their world, and their relationship for each other.

"We got people who are wating for us," said Alex.

"I may be addicted to the water…but I got people right before me," added Haruka.

"I am sick and tired of being scared…" agreed Makoto.

"I had my own psychological emotions…but now I got back from what I lost!" snarled Rin.

"Nagisa is counting on me to protect his existence as well as the other boys!" said Suiei Hazuki through Nagisa's body.

"Might as well asy we've come too far to come too shart at the end of things!" said Rei.

The six could feel the light blast ready to go as they chanted, "Or ore to omae no sa o oshiete yaru yo!"

The blast of light was unleashed as waves of radiation filled in the chamber, blinding Kouta as the governor screamed in agony as he muttered, "I…I'll tell you-uuu…the difference…bett-twen you…and I-I…"

Kouta's body transformed into ashes and black feathers as the barrier that protected the tower finally collapsed, unleashing rings of red light across the night skies. The power from the Sakura Tree at the Metro Park glowed as it unleashed pink light back to the tower to undo the darkness that it had inside.

Meanwhile, the people who were watching this whole mess were crowding their way around to take pictures of the tower but no one suspected what exactly happened inside. The police backed off the audience while the Suiei Gods teleported boys, Izawa and Miho back to Iwatobi at the park where Gou, Nitori, and Mikoshiba stood.

The mutation seemed to not have affect ama-chan but her left eye was filled with blood from the attack.

"Ama-chan!?" gasped Gou as she saw the blood.

"We're gonna need medical treatment!" said Makoto.

"I don't know if that's going to even work," replied Rei, "At this point…she may not even live!"

"We have to do something though," replied Gou, "I mean…how did this even…!?"

"It's a long story," answered Haruka, "Quite messed up too."

Rin turned his head and saw the Sakura Tree while Mikoshiba and Nitori prepared some cloth to cover the ruined eye. The gang grouped to gether to watch the procedure

"Tree-sama," said Rei as he was relieved to see the tree once more.

The tree prepared another extract and presented a vial to Rei, saying, "Give this to her. They're eyedrops."

Rei took the vial and opened it and carefully opened the bandage while Haruka tilted ama-chan's head gently at an angle. The gang grouped to gether to watch the procedure while the magane poured a few drops to the damaged tear duct on her boodied eye and reclosed the bandage.

"Will this help her recover?" asked Gou.

"I'm not sure," replied Rin, "It may just leave her a scar…"

"I'm sure that this can bring back her eye," said Rei, "We know the tree has done so much for us."

"Right," agreed Makoto, "We have to hope that she'll recover."

Makoto turned to Nagisa and hugged him saying, "Are you okay? What happened to you back there?"

"Oh yeah," replied Suiei Hazuki/Nagisa, "He's alright."

"I see…but…Suiei….why is your voice in him?" asked Makoto, "I don't understand this."

"He'll be alright," said Suiei Tachibana.

"It's going to be fine," smiled Suiei Hazuki/Nagisa, "We're now as 'one' like how it was long ago…he's in here with me."

Makoto freaked out a little but Tachibana hugged around him to relax.

"We were all once one being," said Suiei Nanase, "Before the events of the Time Loop and Time Continuum occurred…we were one whole being before we put a part of our souls into you boys."

"That's why…Makoto, Nagisa loves you very much," smiled Hazuki, "So I'm gong to ask you a favor."

"Y-yes?" asked Makoto.

"Protect him," replied the god, "Don't let him too sad and…just keep him safe. Give him what I cannot."

Makoto turned to his Suiei God as Tachibana added, "You've grown strong Makoto…all of you have grown stronger honestly. But you…Makoto, your fears are less and less."

"Now then," said Suiei Marotta, "It is almost time for us."

"We have played a role into helping you all out," said Suiei Matsuoka, "But now we must contine our journey."

"So you're going to leave again?" asked Rei.

"We are never gone," said Suiei Ryugazaki, "We travel…but we are here in your hearts…your necklaces…and in your soul."

"Exactly," said Suiei Hazuki/Nagisa while he glared at Makoto closely, "So I'll know if you're doing things right with MY boy."

"You'll be okay now Alex," smiled Suiei Marotta whie touching his human's host chest, "I am always in with you too."

"Second that," agreed Suiei Ryugazaki.

"And what about Acacius and the others?" asked Mikoshiba.

"They'll be watching over as well," replied Suiei Nanase, "Their role for now is over…but they may be called again someday."

"Um you guys, I don't mean to interrupt, but where's Izawa?" asked Nitori.

"Uh…I haven't seen her," replied Rei as the other shrugged which worried Nitori but he kept silent.

"I know we'll meet again someday," sniffed Alex as he felt a bit saddened, "Whether it's a month…a year...10 years…or maybe a lifetime."

"We need to get ama-chan in the hospital," said Rin as took out his phone to call for an ambulance, "Rei, can you get her upright and ready?"

The gods turned to see the faint light in the sky as they realized that it is time to leave.

"It is time now…brothers," said Suiei Nanase.

"Well then…goodbye to you guys," chuckled Suiei Ryugazaki.

"We'll meet again someday," smiled Suiei Matsuoka.

The earring on Nagisa stopped glowing while Suiei Hazuki unmerged himself from Nagisa's body and followed the others.

"You guys stick together and we'll be watching over you!" said Suiei Tachibana.

"Farewell," echoed Suiei Nanase.

The Six Suiei Gods swirl away into the mist as they leave a small sprinkle of showers over them, washing all of their wounds away as the sun began to rise and shine a new day. The ambulance arrived and took ama-chan to the hospital while the gang rested and waited, wondering what will become of this country.


	11. Epilogue: Bonding and Breaking

**_Epilogue: ボンディング及び破壊 _****_Bonding and Breaking!_**

_Warning: Rin x Haruka x Rei threesome_

* * *

**Days after:**

Miho Amakata stood on the pedestal of the podium and looked at the crowd in front of her; cameras were flashing pics, recording was on and it was all live. Her eye was also restored with help from the tree's healing magic.

She was already giving her welcoming speech to become the next governor even though there was no proper election and what not. It all just happened quite suddenly days after the incident. Since then, the building was undergoing repairs and the new Government Office building was ready for the new governor.

"Most importantly," said Miho, "I think we can all agree what the youth really need for growth is freedom. Unnecessary tying them down will only invite rebellion. Also we must avoid any circumstance that will create generations from knowing the truth in our society…"

She abolished the internet censorship as well as the curfew laws as the people of Tokyo and other cities affected by the laws were in huge relief to hear the news; finally, no more restrictions!

* * *

**Iwatobi, Japan**

The gang sat in a café as they watched the live news while drinking and eating. It was quite amazing news to hear that everything was okay now with their former teacher.

"I'm just amazed ever since she became governor," said Makoto as he took a bit on his biscuit.

"Yeah, who would have thought of that!" smiled Nagisa.

"Yeah, ever since she became the next governor…and there was not even an election…it all just happened," replied Rin.

Rei smiled and touched Rin's hair as the former replied, "Yeah…it's quite a relief."

"The bill is abolished…the internet restrictions are lifted…even the legend of the Suiei Gods is becoming widespread…but at least many think it's only a tale," said Haruka.

Alex looked at his hot chocolate as he sighed a little, worried for his family and his brother, "I need to get home soon…they're waiting for me."

"Izawa disappeared too last night," said Nitori, "I hope she's okay."

Before the others could respond, they heard a familiar voice, "Oi gangsters! Yo!"

"S-Serah?" asked Alex.

"S-Serah-chan?!" asked Gou.

The gang turned to see their friend who just walked into the doorway.

"Hey there," said Rei.

"Yo! 'sup?" asked Rin.

"I heard you guys saved the world again," said Serah, "Congrats. Oh, have you seen my adorable cousin?"

It was a bit of an awkward silence at first but Haruka finally asked, "Are you cousins to Izawa?"

"Related by clan," replied Serah.

"Well she was fighting with us during the battle…" began Nagisa.

"Oh I know she's been missing…even though I told her that I would get her back home," she answered as she sighed, "Ugh, seriously. Such a troublesome kid…very irritating; I'm gonna bash her skull the next time I…"

Before she could finish, Izawa poofed inside the shop holding the mirror in her hands as she blushed nervously, "H-hi…"

"Oh there you are you lil'bitch," smirked Serah.

Alex finished his drink as he sighed, knowing that his days here were over and he had to get back home.

"I'm sad to go," he said to Haruka, "But…."

Haruka held Alex's hand with a small smile and replied, "You are forever connected to us…no matter how far away you are."

Izawa stared at Serah with annoyance before turning to Alex as she held the mirror out to him.

"Alex-kun," said Izawa, "Here…you can have this mirror…it's enchanted. I borrowed it back from your house and I given some upgrades to it."

"E-enchanted? U-upgrades?" asked Alex as he received the mirror.

"Yeah," she replied, "You can talk to Haruka if you say his name. How it works is that a mirror that is close to him will be able to reflect you to him."

"And the others also?" asked Alex.

Izawa nodded timidly as Alex smiled, knowing that he'll be able to talk to them.

"You see, we're all here," said Haruka.

"Yeah you don't have to worry," smiled Makoto.

Rin and Gou smiled while Nitori chuckled. Mikoshiba nodded with a smile also.

"Yeah! Alex-chan! We'll miss you but at least you can still talk to us this way!" agreed Nagisa.

Rei smirked but deep down, he was at least happy.

* * *

By early afternoon, the gang stood out at the beach as Alex's clothes changed back to his armor form while he looked at his Dragon Kopis Sword. He used it earlier to get him and the others back to Japan and now he had to do the same to get back to the states.

"DRAGON SEA KING!" he shouted as swirls of energy blasted out to the sea while the dragon floated out to the seas with its wings.

Alex turned to everyone as his eyes began to water up a little, "T-Thank you all…so v-very much."

Haruka walked up to him for a brief kiss on the lips as they held it together. The foreigner blushed a little but smiled as he wiped the tears away.

"You'll be fine now," said Haruka, "Never forget that."

"Y-yeah," he replied as he looked at the others for one last time before he got on the dragon's tail and onto his back.

"Bye Alex!" shouted Gou, "Come visit again soon!"

"I'll send this beast to get you guys come to America!" he replied, "I got a pool at my mansion for us to party!"

Nagisa grin widely and nodded while Makoto chuckled, knowing that Haruka is probably wanting to go to that pool again.

"Uh NO THANKS," said Rei as he blushed.

Nagisa sighed and hits Rei on the head and replied, "Alrighty then, Alex!"

The world was finally at peace again, with the evil conspiracy destroyed, time continued to move forward…with no loops, no censorship or illusions…just love, happiness, joy, promising, and rewarding…

* * *

By early evening, Alex arrived safely back at Santa Monica where he saw his brother standing out at the beach area. Sergi gasped at the sight of the monster but was too happy to see his brother again.

"BROTHER!" he shouted as he waved out.

Alex got off of the dragon as the beast turned back into his sword. The two brothers shared a hug as they were happy to reunite once more.

"Mom and dad are going out but they've been waiting to at least see you," said Sergi.

They got to the house where they saw the parents all dressed up in fancy clothes.

"Oh it's about time you made it," said the mom as she hugged him tight with tears of joy.

"Ah..sanno…sanno…sanno," sighed the dad as he hugged him also.

"Abbiamo vinto! La gurrea e' finite!" he replied.  
(English: We won! The war is over!)

_Everyone_, thought Alex, _I hope you're all having fun at least…we'll meet again, I know we will._

"I'm going to the pool," said Alex as he was already tossing his clothes off.

"Um brother," blushed Sergi, "Shouldn't you wash up first?"

"I'm fine," he replied, "I already washed before I returned here."

He was already in his bathing suit and rushed out to the pool to jump in. Sergi followed him for a bit and giggled while the parents left the key to Sergi and waved a goodbye.

_I just hope they'll be alright_, thought Sergi, _they're gonna be gone for a week or so…_

He walked back inside to watch the sunset as he went to his laptop to play some puzzle games.

* * *

Back in Japan, the gang sat down on the beach as they watched the sunset. While it was bittersweet to see their friend going back, they were at least happy that all was well finally.

"Hey is it just me," said Rin, "Or does it feel like it was all just like yesterday?"

"What do you mean?" aksed Haruka.

Rin smirked as he took out the trophy that he and Haruka, Makoto, and Nagisa won back in their childhood. Makoto and Haruka gasped as they were amazed to see it intact like nothing ever happened to it.

"Is that…?" began Haruka.

"Yes, and it's the real one too. It was ours back when we were kids!" smiled Rin.

"Woooow!" replied Nagisa, "Would you look at that!"

Rei was a bit confused at first but then he realized that this was their trophy that they won. He felt a bit sadden for not being with them during childhood but he was at least happy to be a part of their lives once more.

"We were all separated after we broke the time loop, but we found each other and reunited…" said Rin, "I guess maybe we should revisit those days…"

"I…well I don't understand why…" began Haruka when he sighed and said, "Well…maybe it doesn't hurt to reflect a little."

Nagisa giggled while Makoto added, "Well not everyone of us knows about our days…plus maybe there were some clues that should help us for the future after all."

"Well," said Nitori, "I guess a little story won't hurt."

"Well this sounds like fun! Although I know some of the story, but hearing it all together will sound great!" agreed Gou.

"I guess the kids back home can wait a little more," replied Serah as she next down.

Izawa smiled as she sat next to Nitori and added, "Yeah they can wait."

Rin nodded as he put the trophy down in the center of the circle as he, Haruka, Makoto, and Nagisa shared their story…

* * *

(Author's Note: If you have NOT read _High Speed! A Promised Reunion_, now's the good time to read it!)

* * *

It took at least 2 hours in order to start and finish it without trying to forget as much. But even still, the sun was continuing to set down.

"And now look at us, all together…" said Rin.

"Yes, everyone ideed," agreed Haruka.

"Quite an adventure you guys had," replied Mikoshiba.

"It was all quite okay," blushed Nagisa.

"Sounds peachy…" said Izawa.

"Quite a trippy trip but I was sorta there," nodded Serah.

"Of course we had more adventures that went on but most of you guys already know that," said Makoto.

"Yeah we had the racing and things…but at least no one disappeared this time," smirked Rin.

Haruka blushed as he replied, "I-i….uh…it's not like I was expecting that!"

Rin held Rei's hand as the megane blused, "Uh…right."

Makoto held onto Nagisa's hand but the blonde glomped behind him and gave him a kiss on the back of the neck.

"It's already sundown," said Haruka, "All happened to quickly…"

"Bet on that bitches," smirked Serah.

"Well it is done with," said Izawa.

"Ugh, not bad words again," sighed Gou.

Mikoshiba chuckled to himself while Gou blushed.

"So then it was Alex after all," said Haruka, "That my grandma has foreseen…she said that the heart was divided into two."

"I kinda figured it had to be him," replied Makoto, "Well…maybe not back then but it all makes sense now."

"Clearer than water," agreed Nagisa.

"I guess we should get moving," said Nitori.

"Let's have a party!" smirked Rin.

"At this hour? Where?" sighed Haruka.

"PARTY! PARTY!" cheered Nagisa.

"Uh…um, we can't stay," said Serha.

"Yeah…" sighed Izawa.

"I guess we can, but it's not the same without Alex-chan," said Rin.

"But he did offer and invite us to his place together once his family has settled down," replied Makoto.

"His mother wasn't too thrilled to see us in our Arabian clothes," said Haruka, "I don't know how she'll react to all of us."

"Oh please," sighed Rin, "I don't want to recall that…it was creepy."

"Yeah, mothers…" nodded Rei.

"So then, do you have to go then Izawa?" asked Nitori.

"Dinner's waiting up for us at the bar. We have to go," said Serah.

"Yeah…that," replied Izawa.

"Ugh dammit Sora, don't make that upset faced!" snapped Serah.

"Can't we just stay for the party?" asked Izawa.

"I sure as hell can't... but I guess I could leave you... and he can sure wait another night for you," replied Serah.

"Well um I…I don't want to push anyone's limits…I…uh…" blushed Nitori.

"She'll stay," said Serah, "On the condition to take care of her silver hair dude. She leaves when the party is over."

"Oh thanks you!" smiled Izawa as she jumped around, I'm staying!"

* * *

They all go to Rin and Gou's place where they have the DJ set up and the party going on. Nitori already made up some snacks to munch on as well as some other party food.

"Go Rei!" laughed Rin, "Shake that ass!"

"NO WAY!" replied Rei as he blushed.

"Oh come on!" smirked the read-head as he glomped to the megane and licked on his ear.

Makoto danced with Nagisa as they were on the center of the dance floor.

"Oh Mako-chan," smiled Nagisa, "You're extra hawt today!"

"Oh Reeei…" whispered Rin passionately.

"R-Ri-Rin!" groaned Rei as he blushed.

Haruka stared out at the window as he saw the stars glittering across the skies. Mikoshiba walked up to him along with Gou.

"You alright there?" asked Mikoshiba.

"H-Haruka?" asked Gou.

The tsundere held his hand to his heart and replied, "It's only been a short time…and yet…"

"Haru," said Gou, "It's gonna be alright. You'll see him again someday soon."

"Thank you," he replied as he got up and walked to the restroom to wash up his face.

"Uh Rei, did you see that?" asked Rin.

"Sorry, I was dealing with you nibbling on me," sighed Rei, "What's up?"

"It's Haru," replied Rin, "He left the room…didn't you sense his aura?"

"Was he gloomy? Because of Alex?" asked Rei.

Rin nodded and replied, "Yeah…What do you think we should do?"

"You want to go talk to him?" asked Rei.

"Maybe WE should talk to him," replied Rin, "The three of us."

"Okay then, let's go," agreed Rei.

* * *

They followed Haruka where they saw him washing his face...and then they saw him going to his room to rest.

"Oi Haru!" said Rin, "You got a moment?"

Haruka turned his head to see them and asked, "What do you both want?"

"Well you're kinda sad looking... want to talk about it?" answered Rei.

"I guess," he sighed as the two sat down in front of him.

"What's eating you?" asked Rei.

"A lot of things," said Haruka, "Well…I mean…I don't want to hurt him…but I missed our times together…"

Rei blushed as the tsundere continued, "I am forever stuck in the middle…but then I…oh god, just why do I have to bear all of this?"

"It's just as you said, if you didn't do with him, he would have probably killed everyone…" replied Rin.

"His heart was turning dark, it was heating him…now he has a Suiei God and I…" began Haruka when he looked at the two and remembered their threesome back in the caverns while living in the Time Loop.

"Oi Haru!" said Rei.

"Look Haru, it's gonna be alright," said Rin.

Rei hugged Haruka and said, "If you're feeling that sad; don't keep it to yourself silly."

"I know if Alex was still here, he would have taken care of you," agreed Rin.

"Yeah he would," nodded Haruka when he blushed a little and said, "I want it…I want to do it again…us three."

"Huh?" asked Rin, "You mean…?"

Haruka nodded, "I know it's going against my relationship with Alex…but we haven't fulfilled the thing with ourselves."

Rei blinked his eyes a little as he thought to himself, _So Alex didn't take him away actually or what…I don't get it._

"I mean," said Haruka, "I love him and all but we never got our chance to do ourselves."

"You're sure about doing this?" asked Rei, "I don't want him to get hurt after all of this…and Rin, are you up for it?"

"I'll do it," smirked Rin, before his eyes narrowed a little, "However, I know that he'll miss you a lot though…so next time you see him, keep him close, okay?"

"However, if we're going to do this," said Rei, "I don't want you to think about Alex because I'm worried you'll get a bit unstable, is that okay? If that sounded selfish…"

"No it's not," replied Haruka, "I just hope that he'll understand…I mean, he has read the legend so I am sure he knows somewhat of the bonding. Just give me a relief tonight and tomorrow we'll move on from there."

"Alrighty then," said Rin as he took off his shirt while Haruka did the same.

"Oh seriously you guys," chuckled Rei, "You're not suppose to waver when it comes to about sex."

Before their eyes, Rei stripped off like crazy as his shaft was already getting harder and harder.

"Oi Rin, let's give Haru-chan something to be sorry about, okay?" asked the megane as he grinned playfully and nailed Haruka down to the bed.

"Oh I'm so on it!" smirked Rin as he watched the show unfold.

Rei moved into Haruka's face for a kiss straight on the lips while the megane got Haruka on his lap and facing each other. Rin hugged from behind and flirted with Haruka's neck and kissed on the cheek before kissing on the lips.

"You'll love it Haru," said Rin, "You ready honey?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," replied Rei, "But we gotta make sure he's lose in there…unless if he's Alex's bottom."

Haruka blushed a little and said, "It's already accessible…just get on with it…"

Rei carefully inserted his finger inside of Haruka while wiggling it around as he noticed that he was right, it was a bit lose already since the foreigner topped Haruka the other day.

"Aaaa…aaaah," moaned Haruka while Rin licked him across the neck and the ear while rubbing his hands around Haruka's chest.

Rei chuckled at the sight and inserted a second finger as he could feel the warmth inside, "Wow…you're really asking for it tonight."

"AaaaaAAAAAH!" groaned Haruka, "R-Reeeei!"

"Shall we?" asked Rin.

Rei removed his fingers and pulled Haruka to kneel over him as he places himself on the other's entrance and said, "You're going to have to help me here Haru-chan-san."

"Aaaaah….aaah...AAAAH!" replied Haruka as he could feel Rei already entering inside of him.

Rin stripped off of his pants and underwear as he too was feeling all harden up and ready to go.

"W-what are you guys…gonna…aaaah…do?" asked Haruka.

"Oh Haru-chan…" smirked Rei, "We're just gonna make you lay off for a night without Alex, that's all. After that, you'll be back with him in no time."

Before Haruka could answer, Rei shoved himself inside as he was

"Reeeeeiii!" moaned Rin.

"Now I gotta make my move," smirked Rin.

"Go ahead Rin," replied Rei while he rubbed Haruka's skin and kissed him on the lips again.

After Rei kissed, the megane repositioned Haruka to lay down while he was on top while Rin inserted his shaft to Haruka's mouth for a moment but stopped.

"Are you going to be okay?" asked Rin, "I don't want to choke you."

Haruka nodded in understanding and Rin reinserted himself inside. Rei bent over with his flexible body and began to thrust to a rhythm as his body was warm and hearing Haruka's moans. The tsundere felt his body about to spasm but much to their surprise, Rin was near the climax already.

"Aaaah….AAAAH…H-Haru…" groaned Rin as he reached the point and withdrew.

"I gotta say that was fast," snickered Rei as he pumped Haruka's shaft with his hand, "Don't you think Haru?"

"I guess it coulnd't be helped," sighed Rin as he bent over to kiss Haruka again before going down to his shaft.

Haruka groaned as Rin tasted him while Rei smirked and thrusted faster and faster.

"G-gu-guysss…I…AAAAAAH!" groaned Haruka as he felt the pressure rising.

"Oh Haruka you have such a nice voice when you're like this," said Rei softly as he could feel his body reaching his limits.

"R-Riiiin…R-Reeeeiiiii!" answered Haruka as he could feel his pressure about to erupt.

Rei groaned with a low sexy growl as he flooded inside of Haruka while the tsundere flooded inside of Rin's mouth. Rei's vision goes white and filled with sparkles while Rin removed his mouth and noticed some of Haruka's fluid erupting out. He caught it with his mouth like a doggy catching a ball.

In their minds, they could all feel the same passion back when they made out in the caves even though Rei was a bit shy at the time. It was almost as if their relationship was reborn finally.

"Tastes like caramel," smirked Rin.

"That's hilarious Rin," snorted Rei as he kissed on Haruka's neck.

Haruka dragged the two together to him as he smiled a little saying, "Thank you guys."

"Anytime Haru," smiled Rei as he nuzzled in.

"We got your back," agreed Rin.

The three looked at each other as their bodies were almost like one.

"You know it's been far too long," said Rin, "I'm glad we did this tonight."

"Yeah," agreed Haruka, "It has."

"Uhh…guys," blushed Rei as his senses were coming back to normal, "Uh…we did the thing!"

The other two grinned while Rei blushed even further and said, "Don't just smile like that! We had sex and it felt good…and oh Haru…"

Rin started to laugh while Haruka kissed Rei again and Rin joined in to create a threesome kiss. Once they took a breath, Rei looked away as he was all red like a tomato.

"Well I'm glad we got a chance to revisit those days," smiled Rin.

Rei hid himself beneath the covers but the other two followed him in.

"Eeek!" gasped Rei.

"Oh stop it Rei!" smirked Haruka, "Let's stay together like this for a while."

"I so got him now!" replied Rin.

"Just stay close together," answered Haruka, "You know…maybe we should've done a foursome…"

Rin and Rei blushed as they realized what Haruka was talking about.

"Uh…um…" began Rei.

"Oh Haruka," smirked Rin, "Maybe someday we will…or maybe all of us can do a train."

"That's gonna be…" blushed Rei as he was almost speechless.

Before he could finish, they suddenly heard some screaming outside of the room. They could hear Makoto running outside along with Nagisa calling out Makoto's name behind.

* * *

Back at the party, the others were dancing and having a great time. Makoto and Nagisa stopped dancing for a moment as he realized that there were a few people out of the way.

"Hey is it just me or does it feel less in here?" asked Makoto.

"The others left a little while ago but yeah, they're doing other fun things," said Nagisa with a smirk and a wink.

Mikoshiba turned to Gou as the girl walked up to get a drink to quench her thirst. He followed her while holding her hand as he knew that things were going to be okay after all.

Mewanwhile, Nitori was amzed at how Izawa was dancing as he said, "You're great at dancing, Izawa!"

The girl blushed red as she replied, "Sh-shut it!"

"Well let's get something to drink, okay?" smiled Nitori, "It's been quite a night so far."

Makoto was about to get a drink also when his necklace suddenly glowed.

"Huh?" asked Nagisa, "What's going on? Mako-chan!?"

Makoto's eyes glowed neon green as he heard screaming inside his head. Realzing what was happening, he rushed out the door to the outside as he saw the moon in the skies and the stars.

"Oi! What's going on!?" asked Mikoshiba.

"It…It can't be!" gasped Makoto, "ALEX!"

* * *

**Back in California…**

It was sunset in California as the warm breeze began to cool down. Alex got out of the pool to dry himself up when he heard a crash and screaming from the house. His Suiei Necklace glowed as danger was erupting.

"Dammit!" he growled as he grabbed his sword by the pool deck and rushed up the stairs to the house.

He rushed through the main hall and saw his brother being clung onto a group of intruders wearing black cloaks and hideous looking masks.

"BROTHER!" screamed Sergi as he tried to get away from the shadows.

"SERGI!" shouted Alex as he sliced the intruders down to reach him but but a blast of shadow erupted out and struck him down. He struggled on his feet and tried to reach out to him but the darkness sealed around him.

"DRAGON SEA KING!" shouted Alex as he unleashed a blast of dragon-shaped water blast but the blast deflected the target and it struck him back, throwing him across the room and crashing to the wall.

"SERGI!" he screamed as the darkness disappeared along with the intruders…leaving him alone…and lost. He fell to the floor as he was beyond terrified on what was happening before him.

_I…I failed_, thought Alex.

**_The end draws near…a time of shadow awakes as he failed to protect him!  
_**

* * *

_**-Book 2: Forbidden Covenant 禁断コヴナント**__**- END**_

_TO BE CONCLUDED IN…_

**_-Book 3: The Last Legend ザラストレジェンド_**

_**January 1, 2014 - The DEFINITE FINALE Begins! **_

_**Prologue is Out now! Chapters 1, 2, and 3 will be out on New Year's Day! See you water next time!**_


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